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She put in her earpieces and placed the head of her stethoscope over the girl's heart-auscultation area, beginning the routine auscultation at the mitral valve area. The mitral region is located 0.5 to 1 centimeter towards the inside from the left fifth intercostal space along the midclavicular line, where the heart's apex beat and sounds can be heard.
The human heart, in its appearance, can roughly be compared to a peach. Like a peach which has a tip, the heart does too, and this tip is called the apex, described specifically as the pointed, conical end at the bottom left part of the heart.
When the heart contracts, the apex hits the chest wall in front, causing the intercostal tissues to vibrate outward. In people with a slender build, you can sometimes see this area thudding outward. With a stethoscope, it's even more apparent.
