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Figure 1 Cross-sectioned coronary artery containing a ruptured plaque with a non-occlusive platelet-rich thrombus superimposed. The actual defect in the fibrous cap is not seen in this section but is located nearby, documented by the presence of extravasated radiographic contrast medium (postmortem coronary angiography) in the soft, lipid-rich core just beneath the thin, inflamed fibrous cap. Trichrome stain, rendering thrombus red, collagen blue, and lipid colorless. Adapted with permission from Falk E and Fuster V. Atherogenesis and its determinants. In: Hursts the Heart. 10th edition. Fuster V, et al., editors. McGraw-Hill, 2001:1065–94.