This Atlas of transesophageal echocardiography represents four years' clinical expe­ rience with peri operative color Doppler echocardiography performed at the Depart­ ment of Heart Surgery of the University of Heidelberg. Four years ago we started a training program in echocardiography with the purpose of utilizing the information derived from transesophageal and epicardial echocardiography for intraoperative diagnosis and surgical decisions. The great impact of echocardiographic information on the surgical procedures disclosed to us an increasing number of applications of TEE and its enormous diagnostic potential. At the moment, intraoperative transeso­ phageal echocardiography represents, in our Institution, an indispensable diagnostic technique for assessing the adequacy of heart surgery. The aim of this Atlas, which was conceived primarily to deal with intraoperative imaging, goes beyond the purpo­ se of making the cardiac surgeon familiar with this technique. The clinical cardiolo­ gist will find immense advantages from the description of many rare diseases and from the direct verification of the echocardiographic diagnoses by the operative fin­ dings. We hope that our experience will contribute to supporting all colleagues who are engaged in the treatment of heart disease. Prof. Dr. Siegfried Hagl Department of Heart Surgery University of Heidelberg Germany Foreword VII Preface Why an atlas? This book was conceived primarily as a short manual to introduce cardiac surgeons to the basics of color Doppler echocardiography.