Morphological and clinical findings in 247 surgically excised native aortic valves.

Aortic valve disease is an increasingly common medical problem in the 20th century; however, its pathogenesis is poorly understood. The present paper reviews 247 cases of aortic valves surgically excised over a one-year period, with special attention to the morphological and histological changes observed in surgically excised aortic valves, and to how those changes relate to the mechanisms of valve failure. Patient age ranged from 17 to 86 years, with a mean of 64.