Blood vessels
Atherosclerosis, hypertension, aneurysms, vasculitis, veins and vascular tumours.
26 pages
Lesion
- Abdominal aortic aneurysm: the lesion, its variants and ruptureBelow the kidneys, plaques can weaken the aorta until it balloons
- ANCA-associated vasculitisAntibodies against neutrophil enzymes make neutrophils attack small vessels, mainly in the…
- Aortic dissectionBlood splits the layers of the aortic wall, tunnelling along the media
- Arteriosclerosis: the three patterns‘Hardening of the arteries’ has three forms: fatty plaques in big arteries, calcium rings in the…
- Atherosclerotic plaque: stable vs vulnerableA plaque is a raised patch in the inner wall: a soft yellow core of fat and debris under a white…
- Benign vascular tumoursMost vascular growths are benign: red birthmarks that shrink, bleeding nodules on gums and…
- Haemangioendothelioma and angiosarcomaAngiosarcoma is the malignant tumour of blood-vessel lining cells
- Immune-complex small-vessel vasculitisAntibody–antigen clumps lodge in tiny vessels, mostly venules of the skin, and attract…
- Infectious vasculitis and aortitisSome microbes attack the vessel wall directly
- Kaposi sarcomaKaposi sarcoma is a vascular tumour driven by a herpesvirus (HHV-8)
- Large-vessel vasculitis: giant cell vs TakayasuTwo granulomatous diseases of the aorta and its branches: one strikes the head arteries of older…
- Lymphangitis and lymphoedemaLymph vessels can become infected (red streaks up the limb) or blocked (a swollen, firm limb…
- Medium-vessel vasculitisThree diseases of medium arteries: one tears holes in visceral arteries, one hits the coronaries…
- Thrombophlebitis and vena cava syndromesClots in veins, with or without inflammation, most often in the deep veins of the legs
- Varicose veins and venous insufficiencyWhen pressure in a vein stays high, the vein stretches, twists and its valves fail
- Vascular anomalies: berry aneurysm, AV fistula, fibromuscular dysplasiaSome vessels are built wrong from the start: thin spots in brain arteries, direct artery-to-vein…
- Vascular ectasiasEctasias are dilated pre-existing small vessels, not tumours: red-purple patches, spider-shaped…
Mechanism
- Aneurysms: types and pathogenesisAn aneurysm is a permanent bulge of a weak artery or heart wall
- How an atheroma forms: the response-to-injury model step by stepAn atheroma is a chronic inflammatory healing response to injured endothelium and trapped…
- Hypertension: mechanismsBlood pressure is cardiac output times resistance
- Vessel hyperreactivity: Raynaud phenomenon and coronary vasospasmSome arteries clamp down too hard in response to cold, stress or drugs
- Vessel wall response to injuryWhatever hurts an artery, its lining reacts the same way: the endothelium misbehaves and…
Topic
- Atherosclerosis: risk factorsAge, sex and genes cannot be changed; cholesterol, blood pressure, smoking and diabetes can, and…
- Vasculitis: classification and mechanismsVasculitis is inflammation of the vessel wall
Process
- Consequences of atherosclerosisPlaques hurt in two ways: slowly, by narrowing the artery, and suddenly, when they crack and a…
- Pathology after angioplasty, stents and graftsOpening or replacing a narrowed artery injures it again; clots and new scar tissue can close it
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Educational content on the mechanisms of disease; not a diagnostic or treatment guide and no substitute for a health professional's advice. No doses are given.
Representative model, for educational purposes only.