Schematic diagram of the endocarditis model.

<p>The experimental procedure involved four stages. First, valve trauma was induced by placing a 32-G catheter (red) at the aortic root via the right carotid artery. Second, <i>S. aureus</i> bacteria were injected via the tail vain 24 h after surgery. Third, MRI was performed 48 h after surgery. Fourth, animals were euthanized after MRI, hearts and organs were removed, inspected macroscopically and processed for microbial assessment or histology. Visual inspection showed clear, translucent valves (white arrow) for non-infected hearts (top) and yellow, thickened valves (white arrow) for colonized hearts (bottom).