Recent studies have attempted to predict the severity of regurgitant lesions from jet size on Doppler flow maps. Jet size is a function of both regurgitant volume and fluid entrained from the receiving chamber and, for a free jet, is a function of its momentum at the orifice. However, regurgitant jets often approach or attach to cardiac walls, potentially altering their momentum and ability to expand by entrainment. Therefore, this study addressed the hypothesis that adjacent walls influence regurgitant jet size as seen on Doppler flow maps. Steady flow was driven through circular orifices (0.02 to 0.05 cm2) at physiologic velocities of 2 to 5 m/s. At a constant flow rate and orifice velocity, orifice position was varied to produce three jet geometries: free jets, jets adjacent to a horizontal chamber wall lying 1 cm below the orifice and wall jets with the orifice at the level of the wall. Doppler color flow imaging was performed at identical instrument settings for all jets. Two long-axis views of the jet were obtained: a vertical view perpendicular to the wall, resembling that most commonly used in patients to image the length of the jet, and a horizontal view parallel to the chamber wall. Velocities along the jet were also measured by Doppler mapping.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)