We investigated the feasibility of obtaining body surface Laplacian maps (BSLMs) from unipolar electrocardiographic recordings in humans. The overall pattern of the BSLMs during ventricular depolarization is reproducible for subjects examined and for multiple sets of maps within a single subject. Right and left ventricular activities are well resolved in the BSLMs over the anterior chest as compared with body surface potential maps (BSPMs). Our experimental results demonstrate the feasibility of performing body surface Laplacian electrocardiographic mapping from potential recordings. The effects of measurement noise and electrode position uncertainty on the Laplacian derivation were also evaluated by computer simulation.