The pig heart is interesting to us because it is very similar to the human heart in anatomy, size and function. Its excellent availability in most areas of the world, along with the similarities to the human heart, make porcine heart tissue ideal for transplant into humans. Of course, untreated porcine tissue would be rejected very quickly by the recipient's body, in the same way that a human's donated organ would be rejected. To prevent this, porcine heart valves are treated with glutaraldehyde to reduce their immunogenicity. The porcine heart, like a human heart, has four chambers and four valves .
Blood flows through the pig heart in the same manner as through a human's.
This picture shows the pig heart from the front, with the portion on the right of the picture being the left side of the heart and vice versa. The aorta is clearly visible at the top, with an atrium on either side, while the ventricles are in the bottom left. The first incision The first incision is across the ventricles, bisecting the heart in the horizontal plane. This section leaves the mitral valve on the top half of the heart. The leaflets of the Mitral valve appear in the center, surrounded by the bottom and top sections of the Septum .