Structural and Histochemical Alterations in the Aortic Valves of Elderly Patients: A Comparative Study of Aortic Stenosis, Aortic Regurgitation, and Normal Valves

Figure 3

Alteration in speed of sound images after protease digestion and the corresponding LM images with elastica Van Gieson staining. Speed of sound (SOS) image of an AS case (a) showing a rapid decrease in the fibrosa values for the following collagenase digestion. (b) SOS image of an AR case revealing stable SOS values of the fibrosa. SOS image of an AS case after pepsin digestion (c), which also shows a rapid decrease in the SOS values compared to the AR case (d).

(a) AS collagenase

(b) AR collagenase

(c) AS pepsin

(d) AR pepsin