Each leaflet has a number of strings called chordae tendinae that act like guy wires, helping the leaflets to maintain their proper shape so that the valve will close during systole. This is a bit of a trick question because the outflow tract is hidden behind the anterior mitral leaflet. If you look closely under the mitral leaflet, you can see the three aortic valve cusps. In the image at right, my finger is visible in the middle of the aortic valve. This is the aortic valve viewed from the outflow side, i.e. from the aorta.
Blood flows up through the valve from the left ventricle, pushing the cusps out of the way.
Two of the three cusps are clearly visible in this view. The aortic valve is the focus of a significant amount of research in this laboratory. In this image the large artery that directs blood out of the left side of the heart to the body, the aorta, is cut longitudinally so that the three cusps are visible. The cusps are identified by the aortic sinus that they are attached to. The sinuses are concave depressions in the wall of the aorta.