Pathogenic Mineralization on Human Heart Valves. III. Electron Microscopy

Pathogenic mineral formations on human cardiac valves have been studied by electron microscopy, as well as high-resolution scanning and transmission microscopies. These are bacteriomorphic mineral formations, as indicated by the globular form of the mineral component represented by the carbonate-containing hydroxyl apatite, by aggregation of the component in colonies, and by the bacterial proper and bacterial glycocalix residues recorded in the samples. The composition and internal structure of the mineral component, as well as the nanosize of the apatite crystals, correlate with the presence of the amorphous and crystalline phases, whose ratio changes from sample to sample and is comparable with the Ca/P atomic ratio.