How to obtain cardiac views
Obtain the five transverse intracardiac views
When the heart is seen from the front in the anatomical drawing, note:
- The position of the chambers and great arteries relative to each other
- The relative position of the valves to each other. The mitral and aortic valves lie in the left ventricle, behind (posterior to) the right heart structures
- Only a small part of the left ventricle is seen
The five basic cardiac views are:
- The abdomen at the level of the stomach
- The 5-chamber view
- The left ventricular outflow tract (or aortic origin) view
- The 3-vessel view (which shows the right ventricular outflow tract)
- The transverse arch and duct (sometimes called the 3vessel trachea, 3VT, view)