A heart left at a Victorian hospital is not human, but most likely from a sheep.
Pathology tests revealed the heart was about half the size of a human heart, and full of maggots.
Ballarat Health Services chief executive Andrew Rowe said the heart was left in a plastic bag in the Ballarat Base Hospital ambulance bay about 9am (AEDT) on Thursday.
He has no idea who left it there, or whether it was a schoolies prank.
"It's an ambulance bay and it's fairly open and accessible to the public," he told AAP.
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The heart was taken to the hospital's mortuary where tests were conducted to determine where it was from.
"It hadn't been refrigerated, because it had maggots in it," Mr Rowe said.
"It's believed to be from a sheep."
Mr Rowe said it was an unusual incident.
"I can't say in my 36 years in public health that I've had a similar experience."
