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Anterior leaflet of mitral valve: anatomy, location and function

The anterior leaflet is the larger leaflet of the mitral valve and lies between the left atrioventricular opening and the aortic outflow. It closes the left atrioventricular orifice during ventricular contraction so blood cannot return to the left atrium.

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Highlighted in the model: Anterior leaflet of mitral valve. Click any part to read about it, or switch off “Highlight topic” to see the whole body. 3D data: BodyParts3D, © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0; meshes simplified and recoloured. The model is an adult male.

Anterior leaflet of mitral valve at a glance

What it is
The anterior leaflet is the larger leaflet of the mitral valve and lies between the left atrioventricular opening and the aortic outflow.
Location
The mitral (bicuspid) valve lies between the left atrium and left ventricle. The anterior leaflet is attached to the fibrous continuity with the aortic valve, and chordae tendineae anchor its free edge to the papillary muscles.
Function
It closes the left atrioventricular orifice during ventricular contraction so blood cannot return to the left atrium.
Body system
Cardiovascular · single, midline structure
FMA ID
FMA7242 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)

Key facts

  • The valve has an anterior and a posterior leaflet, held by chordae tendineae and papillary muscles.
  • Although it attaches to only about a third of the annulus, it covers about two-thirds of the valve orifice area.

Clinical relevance

Mitral valve prolapse or rupture of the chordae can cause mitral regurgitation.

Structures next to the anterior leaflet of mitral valve

The nearest named structures in the 3D model, measured from the centre of each part:

References

  1. Foundational Model of Anatomy: Anterior leaflet of mitral valve (FMA7242). EMBL-EBI Ontology Lookup Service.
  2. OpenStax. Anatomy and Physiology 2e, §20.1 Structure and Function of Blood Vessels. Rice University, 2022.
  3. Mitsuhashi N. et al. (2009). BodyParts3D: 3D structure database for anatomical concepts. Nucleic Acids Research 37, D782–D785. Data © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0.

Explore the whole body in the interactive 3D human anatomy model, or browse the A–Z list of human structures.