Surface anatomy of the heart

Watch video

The heart is a muscular organ that pumps blood around the body by circulating it through the vascular system. It sits in the middle mediastinum between the left and right lungs, anterior to the esophagus and posterior to the sternum. It presents five surfaces:

• Anterior (sternocostal) surface, which lies adjacent to the body of sternum, transversus thoracis muscle and the third to sixth costal cartilages. The anterior surface of the heart lies posterior to the anterior mediastinum.
• Inferior (diaphragmatic) surface, which sits mainly on the central tendon of the diaphragm.
• Left and right (pulmonary) surfaces, which face the left and right lungs, respectively. The left surface involves the lateral portion of the left ventricle as well as a small part of the left atrium/auricle, while the right surface is found between the superior vena cava and the intrathoracic part of the inferior vena cava.
• Posterior surface (base), which lies anterior to the principal bronchi and esophagus.

The heart also presents four borders:

• The right border is a line that runs mainly over the right atrium, extending between the superior and inferior vena cava, and over a small portion of the right ventricle.
• The left (obtuse) border separates the left and anterior surfaces, mainly formed by the left ventricle and part of the left auricle.
• The superior border is a line that goes over the roots of the aorta and pulmonary trunk and a small portion of the left and right auricle.
• The inferior (acute) border extends along the right ventricle and part of the left ventricle at its apex.

Watch the video below to find out more about the surface anatomy of the heart.

Take a quiz

Now that you have watched the video, solidify your understanding of the surface of the heart by testing yourself with the following quiz.

To challenge yourself further, customize your own quiz about the heart by picking the topics you want to be quizzed on yourself. You can also save your selection and quiz yourself later!

Download the following PDF worksheets and identify the anatomical features of the heart!

BLANK WORKSHEET (PDF)LABELED WORKSHEET (PDF)

Browse atlas

Take a look at the individual landmarks and related structures of the  of the heart in the atlas galleries below!

Summary