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Figure 3 Plaque instability. The image in panel A shows a large collection of lipid, shown by the dark area, with a thin layer of intima above it from a native in vitro coronary artery. The arrow shows a small area of intima <50 µm in diameter that is susceptible to rupture. The image in panel B shows another unstable plaque with fissuring to the intimal medial border (arrows). Bar is 500 µm. Reprinted, with permission, from Brezinski et al. (1).