A 36-year-old man dies during cardiac surgery. He had a history of long-standing rheumatic hea disease with mitral stenosis. At autopsy, the pathologist repos findings consistent with mitral stenosis and noted the presence of "hea failure cells." This finding results from
High-Yield Explanation
"Hea failure cells" are intra-alveolar hemosiderin-laden macrophages They are indicative of marked chronic passive congestion of the lung. Red cells leak from congested alveolar capillaries into the alveoli, where they are engulfed and degraded by macrophages.