Vascular Lesions of Rheumatic Heart Disease, with Special Reference to Rheumatic Activity

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(1) Bio-microscopy of bulbar conjunctiva and examination of the punch biopsy of synovial membrane demonstrated various kinds of blood vessel lesions in rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease.
(2) These lesions were observed not only in cases with manifestations of rheumatic changes, but with no apparent clinical and laboratory evidence of rheumatic activity, too. It would be suggested that laboratory tests of the present day were not sensitive enough to indicate the presence of mild rheumatic inflammation. Incidious morphologic changes of blood vessels might exist in rheumatic heart disease patients with no evidence of rheumatic activity.
(3) The prevention and treatment of those vascular lesions are important, since the vascular changes can accelerate aging degenerative process of blood vessels to bring out early appearance of arteriosclerosis, and can also cause various damages to organs and tissues, which are ischemic injuries due to anoxemia.