• A rare congenital anomaly where the heart is formed outside of the thoracic cavity. It is associated with intracardiac lesions and other structural malformations.
  NCI
  U.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
• A rare developmental defect in which the heart is abnormally located partially or totally outside the THORAX. It is the result of defective fusion of the anterior chest wall. Depending on the location of the heart, ectopia cordis can be thoracic, thoracoabdominal, abdominal, and cervical.
  NLM Medical Subject Headings
  U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2025
• A rare, life-threatening, congenital non-syndromic heart malformation characterized by complete or partial location of the heart outside the thoracic cavity. The main ectopic positions are thoracic but anterior to the sternum, abdominal, thoracoabdominal, and cervical. Associated abnormalities include sternal, diaphragmatic, pericardial, and abdominal wall defects, as well as intracardiac malformations.
  OrphaNet
  INSERM, 2021
• Congenital malformation of the ventral wall with partial or total evisceration of the heart outside the thoracic cavity and through the defect in the ventral wall.
  Human Phenotype Ontology (HPO)
  The Human Phenotype Ontology Project, 2025