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[Necropsy study of the mitral valve transected according to five echocardiographic planes]
H J Curti1, S A Silveira, M C Ferreira
1Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Campinas (PUCCAMP), SP.
Purpose:
To study, in anatomic specimens, the regions of the mitral valve transected by the parasternal long axis, the apical 5 chamber, the apical 4 chamber, the apical 2 chamber and the left ventricle apical long axis echocardiographic views.
Methods:
15 patients' hearts, after fixation through intra-ventricular injection of formalin, were cut according to the five above referred echocardiographic views.
Results:
Only the apical 5 chamber view studied adequately the most anterior regions of both mitral cusps. The apical 4 chamber and the parasternal long axis views examine the most posterior segments of the mitral valve. Heart sections made according to the apical 2 chamber view are not adequate to study both cusps on a anatomo-pathologic view. The left ventricle apical long axis is the one which better defines the length of both cusps.
Conclusion:
Its necessary to know precisely the regions of the mitral valve sectioned by different longitudinal echocardiographic views in order to visualize through that method localized mitral valve prolapse.