Prosthetic valve endocarditis of an porcine bioprosthetic valve. The vegetations may be difficult to differentiate from bland thrombosis grossly and requires histologic studies. Porcine bioprosthetic valve shows vegetations on the concave surface (A). Infection is confirmed as evidenced by polymorphonuclear cell infiltrates and purple bacterial colonies invading the tissue valve (B).




Pacemaker leads can also become infected and produce clinical endocarditis.

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