Aortic Regurgitation

Bicuspid aortic valve

By using an orderly approach, the clinician is able to correlate bedside observations and laboratory findings with pathophysiology and the basic elements of cardiac pathology, as shown on the following specimen.

This is a pathology specimen from a patient with a bicuspid aortic valve. The aortic root has been opened at a commissure, and the arrows identify the two cusps. Over many years, such valves may fibrose and become calcified.

Bicuspid aortic valves may be associated with no hemodynamic abnormalities, with aortic regurgitation, aortic stenosis or a combination of both.