| Abstract: | Circumference and surface area of AV-valves were determined in 200 hearts formalin-fixed in their postmortem contracted state. It was found that, with increasing ventricular weight, the increase of the surface area of the valves exceeds that of the valve circumference. According to our findings, it is unlikely that relative valvular incompetence in eccentric cardiac hypertrophy is solely due to a disproportion between the valve surface area and circumference. Degenerative vascular changes of papillary muscle arteries and fibrosis of the papillary muscles may play one etiological role in the relative insufficiency of these valves. |
