Abstract: An artificial heart valve is the combination of curved wings and a ring inside of which the curved wings are hinged. The ring extends between an inlet and an outlet end, which ends are bisected by a center plane. The ring has diametrically opposed shoulders on the inlet end, and each shoulder is formed with a pair of hemispherical cavities. Each curved wing has a pair of opposite hemispherical enlargements shaped to cooperate with the hemispherical cavities in the shoulders such that spaced pivot axes are defined for the curved wings. The hemispherical enlargements are arranged on the wings and the hemispherical cavities are correspondingly arranged on the ring such that the curved wings, when in an extreme open position of approximately at least 85 degrees to the center plane of the ring, project minimally beyond the outlet end of the ring. Preferably, any length of the curved wings that would project beyond the outlet end would be less than an axial length of the ring.