Universal simulator used to practice techniques and procedures in cardiac surgery through classical and minimally invasive approaches at the heart level, or other interventions in the thoracic surgery field. The simulator is composed of a synthetic thorax (1) which has several incisions (6) with mobile costo-vertebral joints (2) and mobile sterno-costal joints (3), a sternum with a medium cut (4) and a transversal cut (5) at the level of the third intercostal space, a porcine tissue composed of heart (7), two lungs (21), ascending aorta (17), descending aorta (22) and trachea (23) and a pumping system composed of an actuator (10), a piston cylinder (8) connected through tubing (11) to the left and right ventricles of the heart, a variable pressure pump (9) which pumps liquid through tubing (18) into the ascending aorta (17), an air trap (13) mounted between the pump (8) and the heart (7) and two unidirectional valves (19 and 20) for liquid and air, mounted in series in the superior part of the air trap (13) and a reservoir (14) for liquid connected to the pumps (8 and 9) which pump liquid into and from the heart (7) and to the ascending aorta (17).