Anatomy · Thorax

Heart: external features, chambers, relations and applied anatomy

8 min read

  • Heart: hollow muscular organ in the mediastinum, enclosed in the pericardium; pyramidal, placed obliquely with one-third to the right and two-thirds to the left of the median plane.

External Features

  • Four external features: apex, base, three surfaces (sternocostal, diaphragmatic, left), and four borders (right, left, inferior, upper).

sternocostal (anterior) surface of the heart Sternocostal (anterior) surface of the heart.

External features of the heart