Posterior leaflet of mitral valve at a glance
- What it is
- One of the two leaflets of the mitral valve. It attaches to about two thirds of the annulus but is shorter and smaller in area than the anterior leaflet.
- Location
- It attaches to the posterior part of the mitral annulus between the left atrium and left ventricle and is anchored by chordae tendineae to both papillary muscles.
- Function
- It closes with the anterior leaflet to prevent backflow from the left ventricle to the left atrium.
- Body system
- Cardiovascular · single, midline structure
- FMA ID
- FMA7243 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)
Key facts
- It has three scallops: P1, P2 and P3.
- The mitral valve is best heard at the cardiac apex, in the left fifth intercostal space in the midclavicular line.
Clinical relevance
Prolapse or rupture of chordae can cause mitral regurgitation.
Structures next to the posterior leaflet of mitral valve
The nearest named structures in the 3D model, measured from the centre of each part:
- Anterior leaflet of mitral valve · cardiovascular
- Cavity of ventricle · cardiovascular
- Great cardiac vein · cardiovascular
- Circumflex branch of coronary artery · cardiovascular
- Coronary sinus · cardiovascular
- Wall of ventricle · cardiovascular
- Wall of atrium · cardiovascular
- Posterior vein of ventricle · cardiovascular
- Cavity of atrium · cardiovascular
- Septal leaflet of tricuspid valve · cardiovascular
References
- Foundational Model of Anatomy: Posterior leaflet of mitral valve (FMA7243). EMBL-EBI Ontology Lookup Service.
- OpenStax. Anatomy and Physiology 2e, §20.1 Structure and Function of Blood Vessels. Rice University, 2022.
- 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.