Morphological and Chemical Study of Pathological Deposits in Human Aortic and Mitral Valve Stenosis: A Biomineralogical Contribution

Table 1

Patients characteristics, experimental analyses performed (SEM-EDS, scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectrometry; PXRD, powder X-ray diffraction; EMP, electron microprobe analysis; PLM, polarized light microscopy), and average content of calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) in different types of calcified valve. Ca and P contents are expressed as oxide-weight percent values and as atomic Ca : P ratio. Values are mean ± SD.

Characteristic	Overall	Tricuspid aortic valve	Bicuspid aortic valve	Mitral valve
Age, y	72.4 ± 10	74.5 ± 7.8	55 ± 15	69 ± 9
Males	25 (69.4%)	20 (69%)	3 (100%)	2 (50%)
SEM-EDS	20 (55.5%)	13 (45%)	3 (100%)	4 (100%)
PXRD	27 (75%)	23 (79%)	2 (66%)	2 (50%)
EMP	5 (14%)	2 (7%)	2 (66%)	1 (25%)
PLM	5 (14%)	2 (7%)	2 (66%)	1 (25%)
CaO	40 ± 5.7	44.3 ± 4.3	35.3 ± 8.2	40.7 ± 3.4
P2O5	28.1 ± 4.2	30.85 ± 3.3	25 ± 6	28.85 ± 2.3
Ca : P	1.8 ± 0.08	1.82 ± 0.05	1.8 ± 0.105	1.78 ± 0.09