4. Mitral and tricuspid valves

Back to the 4 chamber view. Here we can see the function of the mitral and triscupid valves. We begin first with the mitral valve, it consists of two cusps or flaps, a large anteromedial cusp and a smaller posterolateral cusp. Here we see that the flaps have good movement. If we add color Doppler, we can follow the blood stream from the atrium to the ventricle through the mitral valve. The red color indicates blood flowing towards the echo probe. With a mitral insufficience, there will be a blue signal from the ventricle through the valve to the atrium. We can also measure the speed of the blood flow by using a pulse Doppler. The measuring point is then placed in the middle of the opening of the mitral valve. From the 4 chamber view, we can move on to the tricuspid valve, the color Doppler signal is not as strong here, as the blood flow is slower through the tricuspid valve.