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Figure 1 Plaque heterogeneity within a given patient. (A) Cross section of a coronary artery cut just distal to a bifurcation. The atherosclerotic plaque to the left (circumflex branch) is fibrotic and partly calcified, whereas the plaque to the right (marginal branch) is lipid-rich with a nonoccluding thrombus superimposed. (B) Higher magnification of the plaque-thrombus interface reveals that the fibrous cap over the lipid-rich core is extremely thin, inflamed, and ruptured with a real defect—a gap—in the cap. Both arteries contain contrast medium injected postmortem. Trichrome stain, staining collagen blue and thrombus red.
