The presence or absence and the extent of calcific deposits in operatively excised stenotic mitral valves was determined by radiographing the excised valve in 164 patients aged 26 to 72 years. The amount of calcific deposits in the stenotic mitral valves correlated (p less than 0.05) with sex and with the mean diastolic pressure gradient across the mitral valve, but it did not correlate with the patient's age, cardiac rhythm, main pulmonary arterial or pulmonary arterial wedge pressure, previous mitral commissurotomy, presence of thrombus in the body of left atrium or the presence of disease of one or more other cardiac valves.