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GLOSSARY
Artificial heart valve
The heart valve enclosed in the capsule was developed jointly by Sakakibara Shigeru and Arai Tatsuta of Tokyo Women's Medical University. It has no fixed cage and is movable in its entirety (except for the ring on the base); valve motion is a simple vertical movement. The valve may be used as a mitral, aortal or tricuspid valve and it has been used successfully in many operations. Its action is smooth and it has no injurious effect on the regular functioning of the heart. The valve is made from NTK-22AT stainless steel, the same material as that used for the capsule. The base material is fluoroplastics.