Devices, arrangements, and methods for heating a patient bearing area of an operating table, including a heating element for heating a patient bearing area of an operating table, with a heating element for heating a fluid that transfers heat, an elastically deformable flow layer of the patient bearing area through which the heated fluid can flow, and a fluid-tight sealing layer of the patient bearing area arranged between a surface of the patient bearing area provided for contact with the patient and said flow layer. The device may include a flow circuit for the circulating, heat-bearing fluid formed as a closed path.
