Question:medium
Which of the following will be seen on cardiac biopsy of a patient who had a post-MI reperfusion injury?
Which of the following will be seen on cardiac biopsy of a patient who had a post-MI reperfusion injury?
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Reperfusion floods dying myocytes with calcium, hypercontracting the sarcomeres into dense pink bands.
Updated On: Jun 23, 2026
- Waviness of fibres
- Eosinophilic contraction bands
- Neutrophils in cardiac cells
- Swelling of cells
Show Solution
The Correct Option is B
Solution and Explanation
Link the mechanism to the slide: reperfusion equals calcium influx equals contraction band necrosis.
Option elimination: waviness of fibres is the very first ischaemic change you can see, well before any reperfusion, so it does not specifically answer this question. Neutrophils invading the infarct are a feature of the inflammatory wave at one to three days, marking the healing timeline rather than reperfusion. Cellular swelling reflects early reversible injury from failed ion pumps and is non-specific.
The specific lesion: once oxygenated blood re-enters dead or dying cells, calcium rushes in through damaged membranes, locking actin and myosin into a hypercontracted state. These rigid sarcomeres show up as bright eosinophilic transverse bands.
Bottom line: eosinophilic contraction bands are the pathognomonic histology of myocardial reperfusion injury.
Reference: cardiovascular pathology, ischaemic injury.
Option elimination: waviness of fibres is the very first ischaemic change you can see, well before any reperfusion, so it does not specifically answer this question. Neutrophils invading the infarct are a feature of the inflammatory wave at one to three days, marking the healing timeline rather than reperfusion. Cellular swelling reflects early reversible injury from failed ion pumps and is non-specific.
The specific lesion: once oxygenated blood re-enters dead or dying cells, calcium rushes in through damaged membranes, locking actin and myosin into a hypercontracted state. These rigid sarcomeres show up as bright eosinophilic transverse bands.
Bottom line: eosinophilic contraction bands are the pathognomonic histology of myocardial reperfusion injury.
Reference: cardiovascular pathology, ischaemic injury.
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