RESUMEN
The historical evolution of the prosthetic heart valves is resumed, quoting the first experimental steps, the conditions that a prosthesis has to fulfil, and the first clinical attempts with the Hufnagel's valve in the treatment of the aortic insufficiency (September 11, 1952) and with the Chesterman's in the pathology of the mitral valve (July 22, 1955) till the Starr Edwards' ball valve (Agoust 12, 1960). The characteristics of the different types of ball valve are described (Harken, Smeloff, etc), disc valves (Kay-Shiley, Beall, Lillehei-Nakib etc.), tilting disc valves (Bjork-Shiley, Hall-Kaster, Omniscience etc), bileaflet valves ( St. Jude and others) and biological valves, using autologous tisues (diaphragm, fascia lata, pericardium) homologous (aortic and mitral valves, duramater) and heterologous (porcine and bovine valves, Carpentier-Edwards, Hancock, Ionescu's valve of bovine pericardium), to conclude with the new trends with valves made from autologous cells, the valves made with polymers, those based on the concept of flexible tubes and finally with those used by percutaneous transcatheter implantation (Boudjemline y Bonhoeffer. Cribier.).
