The pathognomonic feature of rheumatic hea disease is
Aschoff nodule
Caterpillar cell
McCallum plaques
Fibrinous pericarditis
During acute RF, distinctive lesions occur in the hea, called Aschoff bodies, consisting of foci of T lymphocytes, occasional plasma cells, and plump activated macrophages called Anitschkow cells (pathognomonic for RF). These macrophages have abundant cytoplasm and central round-to-ovoid nuclei (occasionally binucleate) in which the chromatin condenses into a central, slender, wavy ribbon (hence the designation "caterpillar cells").
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