Answer to Gentleman Scholars
Correct answer is E. This question addresses the distinct difference between location of the mitral valve versus where one listens to the valve, in which case D would be a better choice. The mitral valve represents the apical beat of the heart. However, one cannot listen to it where the valve projects on the surface of the thorax because the body of the sternum dampens the sound of the valve. Instead, one listens to the valve sound at the location where it projects, approximately 3.5 inches lateral to the body of the sternum, just below the nipple in the male.
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Answer to this question is based on material presented in lectures 12 of the Thorax Lecture Series.
= Superior vena cava
= Right atrium
= Right ventricle
= Apex of the heart
= Left ventricle
(Dissection, courtesy of Sam Michelhaugh, M4, Georgetown University Medical School.)