Surface Anatomy
The aortic area, pulmonic area, tricuspid area and mitral area are areas on the surface of the chest where the heart is auscultated. Heart sounds result from reverberation within the blood associated with the sudden block of flow reversal by the valves closing. Because of this, auscultation to determine function of a valve is usually not performed at the position of the valve, but at the position to where the sound waves reverberate.
| Pulmonary valve (to pulmonary trunk) | left second intercostal space | left upper sternal border |
| Aortic valve (to aorta) | right second intercostal space | right upper sternal border |
| Erb's point | Left third intercostal space | medial left sternal border |
| Mitral valve (to left ventricle) | left fifth intercostal space | medial to left midclavicular line |
| Tricuspid valve (to right ventricle) | left fifth intercostal space | lower left sternal border |
Read more about this topic: Heart Sounds
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