X-ray determination of the size and shape of the left atrium in patients with mitral heart disease

Due to the widespread use of surgical treatment of mitral stenoses, the role and importance of X-ray diagnostics of mitral heart defects have increased. An important sign of mitral stenosis is an enlargement of the left atrium located directly above the narrowed opening. The heart changes its configuration due to an increase in the left atrium, right ventricle, its cone and bulging of the pulmonary artery arch. In a direct projection at high magnification, the left atrium forms a third arc along the left contour of the heart. Currently, it has been proven that the third arc on the left is formed not by the pulmonary cone, as previously thought, but by the ear of the left atrium [3, 6, 11, 12, 13]. The degree of bulging of the third arc characterizes the size of the left atrium. With a large arc, a large, well-accessible ear of the left atrium is noted during surgery, with a small arc — a small ear. Significantly increasing, the left atrium in the form of an additional arc can also extend to the right contour of the heart [2, 3, 4, 8, 9].