Schematic representations of A) the healthy heart with enlargements of the aortic
valve highlighting the layer composition, of the coronary arteries outlining the
fiber orientation in the tunica, and of the myocardial wall with cellular and
fiber direction, and B) the diseased heart illuminating fiber disruptions in the
aortic valve due to (micro)calcification, in the coronary arteries due to plaque
formation, and in the myocardium due to fibrosis. A1) Movat’s pentachrome
staining of structural organization in a circumferential cross-section of a
human aortic valve leaflet. Yellow = collagen, blue = glycosaminoglycans (GAGs),
black = elastin, dark brown/black = calcification. Trilayered structure of the
fibrosa (collagen-rich), spongiosa (GAG-rich), and ventricularis (elastin-rich)
layers (scale bar = 100 μm). Reproduced with permission under the terms of the
CC BY 4.0 license.[194]
Copyright 2018, the Authors, Published by MDPI. A2) Histology section of
coronary arterial wall highlighting the fiber structure and orientation (scale
bar = 10 μm). Reproduced with permission under the terms of the CC BY 4.0
license.[195]
Copyright 2018, the Authors, Published by MedWin Publishers. A3) Scanning
electron microscopy photograph displaying the honeycomb-like structure of
supportive fibers in the myocardium cross-section (scale bar = 50 μm).
Reproduced with permission.[43] Copyright 2016, JoVE. B1) Movat’s pentachrome staining of
structural organization in a circumferential cross-section of a human aortic
valve highlighting the disruption of the leaflet layers by calcifications
(black) and fibrosis (yellow regions) in CAVD (scale bar = 50 μm). Reproduced
with permission under the terms of the CC BY 4.0 license.[194] Copyright 2018, the
Authors, Published by MDPI. B2) Histology section of coronary arterial wall
highlighting the plaque rupture with acute luminal thrombus (Thr) and underlying
large necrotic core (NC). Arrows indicate the site of fibrous cap disruption
(scale bar = 50 μm). Reproduced with permission.[196] Copyright 2013, Elsevier. B3) Scanning
electron microscopy photograph showing the randomly arranged bundles of collagen
fibres after myocardial infarction and myocardial scarring inside left ventricle
(scale bar = 10 μm). Reproduced with permission.[197] Copyright 2017, Springer.