title: Study of mitral valve in human cadaveric hearts.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The mitral valve is a complex structure that is altered by disease states. The classical image of the mitral valve is a bicuspid valve with two leaflets and two papillary muscles. The reason for the present study is to study the morphology and morphometry of the mitral valve.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study was carried out on 116 human cadaveric hearts. Hearts were opened along the left border through the atrioventricular valve. The diameter and circumference of the annulus was measured and the number of valve leaflets was observed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean annular diameter was 2.22 cm. The mean circumference of mitral valve annulus was 9.12 cm. The standard description of the mitral valve is bicuspid. In the present study, we found the number of cusps to be variable, from monocuspid to hexacuspid and classified them accordingly.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The mitral valve is not always a bicuspid valve. The number of cusps varies greatly. An increase in the number of the cusp and their improper approximation most likely causes various valvular disorders.
authors: Department of Anatomy, Rural Medical College, Maharashtra, India.
authors: S A
authors: SA
authors: Gunnal
authors: M S
authors: MS
authors: Farooqui
authors: R N
authors: RN
authors: Wabale
keywords: Atrioventricular valve; leaflets/cusps; variation