ABSTRACT
The proximity of the transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) probe in the esophagus
allows far superior imaging of the heart valves, in general, than transthoracic
echocardiography (TTE). Hence, the echocardiographer can make easy assessments of
both structure and function of all four heart valves. In this chapter, perioperative TEE of
the heart valves is discussed. For each valve, there is a discussion of normal anatomy,
standard TEE images, valvular stenosis, and regurgitation.