Crystalline Ultrastructures, Inflammatory Elements, and Neoangiogenesis Are Present in Inconspicuous Aortic Valve Tissue

Figure 3

EDX spectra collected for the ultrastructures presented above (blue graph) and for massively calcified lesions within the same valve (red graph) (SEM not shown). The contributions of light elements such as C (carbon), O (oxygen), and Na (sodium) are predominating within crystalline ultrastructures, while massive calcifications display higher peaks of elements such as P (phosphor) and Ca (calcium). Results are fitting into the chemical composition given by FT-IR (see beneath).