Replacement heart valve. Gross clinical specimen of a heart with an artificial heart valve (white, centre right). This is a Starr valve, and has replaced the mitral valve, a one-way valve that allows blood to flow only from the left atrium to the left ventricle. The left ventricle is the chamber that pumps blood around the body. A valve is replaced if it becomes incompetent (it fails to prevent back-flow) or narrowed (stenosis). Valve replacement is a major surgical operation in which the patient is placed on a heart-lung machine for several hours. After the operation the patient must take anticoagulant drugs for life to stop clots forming on the valve.

Photo website with Rights Managed and Royalty Free stock photos, images, illustrations and footage available for download immediately for commercial and editorial uses. Aflo is a leading independent supplier and producer of stock pictures and visual content. Search and find high quality images and video for design, print, web-use and publishing. Buy photos from our extensive collection of model released and property released sports images. Search some of the most beautiful travel and landscape pictures from our own photographers and license from our large collection of content, modern and archive, focusing on Japan. We provide free research. Register for personal account management and for full use of our Stock Photography website and start to download images now.