The short axis of the heart is the plane perpendicular to the long axis of the heart, considered to be the axis that aligns the base of the heart and the apex. This view gives an excellent cross sectional view of the left and right ventricles and often displays the cardiac skeleton and valve annuli. Within this section you will see labeled images of the hearts at the mid ventricular level emphasizing the thickness of the ventricular walls and showing the papillary muscles of the left and right ventricles.