MRCS Part B Revision · Anatomy
Heart 1 — MRCS Part B Anatomy
By Dr Richard Miller, MBChB FRCS · Reviewed
Heart 1 is a surgical anatomy station. Three of the seventeen examined stations in the MRCS Part B OSCE are surgical anatomy. The anatomy stations put a prosected specimen, a model or an image in front of you and ask you to identify structures and say what they do, what they relate to and what happens when they are injured.
What you need to know for the Heart 1 station
Heart (1)
The Heart (1)
The heart is situated in the middle of the mediastinum behind the breastbone in the chest, at the level of thoracic vertebrae T5-T8. The largest part of the heart is usually slightly offset to the left (though occasionally it may be offset to the right) and is felt to be on the left because the left heart is stronger, since it pumps to all body parts. The left lung in turn is smaller than the right lung because it has to accommodate the heart.
The heart is supplied by the coronary circulation and is enclosed in a double-membraned sac–the pericardium. This attaches to the mediastinum, providing anchorage for the heart. The back surface of the heart lies near to the vertebral column, and the front surface sits deep to the sternum and costal cartilages.
Two of the great veins – the venae cavae, and the great arteries, the aorta and pulmonary artery, are attached to the upper part of the heart, called the base, which is located at the level of the third costal cartilage.
The lower tip of the heart, the apex, lies just to the left of the sternum between the junction of the fourth and fifth ribs near their articulation with the costal cartilages. The right side of the heart is deflected forwards, and the left deflected to the back.
Images from this station
What are you asked at the Heart 1 station?
The station runs to 15 questions over nine minutes. These are the questions as they are put to you; the model answers are in the question bank.
- The examiner hands you a model of the heart. He asked you to describe the three borders of the heart when viewed anteriorly
- He next asks you to describe the surfaces of the heart when viewed anteriorly
- Identify structures 1-3
- What is structure 4?
- Identify structures 5-7
- Identify structures 8 and 9
- Identify structures 10 and 11
- What is structure 12 and what is its origin?
- Identify nerves 13-15
- Identify the heart borders 16-18
- Identify structures 19-21
- What is the function of structures 22-23
And 3 more at this station.
How is the anatomy station marked in MRCS Part B?
An anatomy station is marked out of 20, and all 20 marks go to clinical knowledge and its application. No communication, technical-skill or professionalism marks are available in an anatomy bay, which is unusual: in most other stations more than half the marks sit outside your factual knowledge.
FAQ
What does the Heart 1 station ask?
It opens with "The examiner hands you a model of the heart. He asked you to describe the three borders of the heart when viewed anteriorly" and runs to 15 questions over nine minutes. An anatomy station is marked out of 20, and all 20 marks go to clinical knowledge and its application. No communication, technical-skill or professionalism marks are available in an anatomy bay, which is unusual: in most other stations more than half the marks sit outside your factual knowledge.
How many anatomy stations are there in MRCS Part B?
Three of the seventeen examined stations are surgical anatomy, and two more are surgical pathology. Together they make up the five Anatomy and surgical pathology stations of the Applied Knowledge component.
How are the anatomy stations marked?
Each station is marked out of 20 and all 20 marks are awarded for clinical knowledge and its application. You also receive a separate global rating of pass, borderline or fail for the station.
Are the specimens real?
Yes. Anatomy bays use prosected cadaveric specimens, models and images. Candidates report being shown photographs of specimens as well as the specimens themselves, so practise on real dissection photography rather than diagrams alone.
What happens if I get an early question wrong?
The intercollegiate guidance says that if a wrong answer would affect your performance on later questions at the same station, the examiner gives you the correct answer before moving on. One mistake does not have to cost you the whole bay.
How many stations are in the MRCS Part B OSCE?
Seventeen examined stations of nine minutes each, with a minute to read the task before each one. Two preparation stations and at least one rest station bring the circuit to about twenty, and the exam takes about three and a half hours.
What is the pass mark for MRCS Part B?
There is no published pass mark. The cut score is set separately for Applied Knowledge and Applied Skills, for each circuit, by borderline regression. Published pass rates across the 2024/25 diets ranged from 51% to 66%.
Can I fail a station and still pass?
Yes. There is no rule about how many stations you may fail: the cut score applies to your total mark in each component, so a weak station costs the marks you lost on it and strong stations elsewhere can make them back. Applied Knowledge and Applied Skills are passed separately and must both be passed at the same sitting, so a strong anatomy performance cannot rescue a weak communication one.
Dr Richard Miller, MBChB FRCS
Station summaries are reviewed against the current intercollegiate MRCS syllabus and the published marking blueprint. Guidance changes between diets: check the royal colleges' own pages before relying on a date, a fee or a threshold.
Practise this station
The question bank carries the model answer to every question above, with the rest of the anatomy stations.
More anatomy stations