Harvard med student was baffled when she heard a patient’s heartbeat on the right — the one-in-a-million reason blew her mind
The human body is extremely fascinating, and it never fails to amaze us. Harvard medical student Melissa Qin (@melissaqin) was checking a woman's heart when she heard her heartbeat. A small difference, which was suspected to be a defect, led to the discovery of a one-in-a-million reason that blew her mind. Sharing the story with her TikTok following on February 17, 2026, she revealed how she still couldn't believe she got to see something she had only read in medical textbooks.
@melissaqin medicine is so cool! #harvard #medschool #storytime #medstudent ♬ original sound - Melissa Qin
Harvard medical student, Qin, was having her student version of grand rounds, where her group of three was inspecting a woman's heart. While checking for the heartbeat through all four valves, she was unable to hear the heartbeat from the fourth valve, which is situated below the left breastbone. Since the fourth valve was situated in the apex of the heart, she was supposed to hear the loudest heartbeat. However, failing to hear it, the med students presumed that she might have a mild valve stenosis, a condition where a valve is functioning improperly. However, she already had a valve replacement earlier. That's when her preceptor revealed that the woman has a one-in-a-million condition called Situs inversus totalis, where her heart is situated on the right side.
Qin revealed that she was blown away seeing a patient with this rare congenital condition, which she had only read about in books, assuming that she'd never come across a patient who actually has it. She also revealed that the woman's organs are not going to fit in anyone else's body. According to the Cleveland Clinic, Situs inversus, or situs inversus totalis, basically refers to the congenital condition where all the thoracic and abdominal organs situated on the left side are instead situated on the right side of the body. That is, the heart on the right, the liver on the left, and the spleen and stomach on the right.
As noted by Qin, the right side of the lung is smaller than the left side of the lung to give room for the right side of the heart. While the cause of this condition is unknown, it is known to occur in 10,000 to 25,000 births and is generally known to cause no functional issues to the body. In fact, many cases are discovered incidentally, that is, through X-rays and ultrasound due to no symptoms or problems. The report notes that this condition requires no treatment since there are no defects to the organs.
Soon after her video went viral, many users shared their thoughts on it. @Hood Doctor wrote, "Knowing people have Situs inversus totalis is so interesting and fascinating at the same time." @ChandlerEdwards wrote, "As soon as you said the apex was quiet, my immediate thought was it’s on the other side. Grey's Anatomy taught me more than actual anatomy class, I fear." @makayla MD1 wrote, "I knew exactly where this was going as soon as you said you were listening to the apex! hahaha."
For more such fun and interesting videos, follow @melissaqin on TikTok.