[Durgical](https://durgical.com/en/) › [DurgiPedia](https://durgical.com/en/durgipedia/) › [General pathology](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/) › Blood vessels # Blood vessels Atherosclerosis, hypertension, aneurysms, vasculitis, veins and vascular tumours. 26 pages ## Lesion - [**Abdominal aortic aneurysm: the lesion, its variants and rupture** Below the kidneys, plaques can weaken the aorta until it balloons](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/abdominal-aortic-aneurysm-the-lesion-its-variants-and-rupture/) - [**ANCA-associated vasculitis** Antibodies against neutrophil enzymes make neutrophils attack small vessels, mainly in the…](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/anca-associated-vasculitis/) - [**Aortic dissection** Blood splits the layers of the aortic wall, tunnelling along the media](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/aortic-dissection/) - [**Arteriosclerosis: the three patterns** ‘Hardening of the arteries’ has three forms: fatty plaques in big arteries, calcium rings in the…](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/arteriosclerosis-the-three-patterns/) - [**Atherosclerotic plaque: stable vs vulnerable** A plaque is a raised patch in the inner wall: a soft yellow core of fat and debris under a white…](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/atherosclerotic-plaque-stable-vs-vulnerable/) - [**Benign vascular tumours** Most vascular growths are benign: red birthmarks that shrink, bleeding nodules on gums and…](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/benign-vascular-tumours/) - [**Haemangioendothelioma and angiosarcoma** Angiosarcoma is the malignant tumour of blood-vessel lining cells](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/haemangioendothelioma-and-angiosarcoma/) - [**Immune-complex small-vessel vasculitis** Antibody–antigen clumps lodge in tiny vessels, mostly venules of the skin, and attract…](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/immune-complex-small-vessel-vasculitis/) - [**Infectious vasculitis and aortitis** Some microbes attack the vessel wall directly](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/infectious-vasculitis-and-aortitis/) - [**Kaposi sarcoma** Kaposi sarcoma is a vascular tumour driven by a herpesvirus (HHV-8)](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/kaposi-sarcoma/) - [**Large-vessel vasculitis: giant cell vs Takayasu** Two granulomatous diseases of the aorta and its branches: one strikes the head arteries of older…](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/large-vessel-vasculitis-giant-cell-vs-takayasu/) - [**Lymphangitis and lymphoedema** Lymph vessels can become infected (red streaks up the limb) or blocked (a swollen, firm limb…](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/lymphangitis-and-lymphoedema/) - [**Medium-vessel vasculitis** Three diseases of medium arteries: one tears holes in visceral arteries, one hits the coronaries…](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/medium-vessel-vasculitis/) - [**Thrombophlebitis and vena cava syndromes** Clots in veins, with or without inflammation, most often in the deep veins of the legs](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/thrombophlebitis-and-vena-cava-syndromes/) - [**Varicose veins and venous insufficiency** When pressure in a vein stays high, the vein stretches, twists and its valves fail](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/varicose-veins-and-venous-insufficiency/) - [**Vascular anomalies: berry aneurysm, AV fistula, fibromuscular dysplasia** Some vessels are built wrong from the start: thin spots in brain arteries, direct artery-to-vein…](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/vascular-anomalies-berry-aneurysm-av-fistula-fibromuscular-dysplasia/) - [**Vascular ectasias** Ectasias are dilated pre-existing small vessels, not tumours: red-purple patches, spider-shaped…](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/vascular-ectasias/) ## Mechanism - [**Aneurysms: types and pathogenesis** An aneurysm is a permanent bulge of a weak artery or heart wall](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/aneurysms-types-and-pathogenesis/) - [**How an atheroma forms: the response-to-injury model step by step** An atheroma is a chronic inflammatory healing response to injured endothelium and trapped…](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/how-an-atheroma-forms-the-response-to-injury-model-step-by-step/) - [**Hypertension: mechanisms** Blood pressure is cardiac output times resistance](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/hypertension-mechanisms/) - [**Vessel hyperreactivity: Raynaud phenomenon and coronary vasospasm** Some arteries clamp down too hard in response to cold, stress or drugs](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/vessel-hyperreactivity-raynaud-phenomenon-and-coronary-vasospasm/) - [**Vessel wall response to injury** Whatever hurts an artery, its lining reacts the same way: the endothelium misbehaves and…](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/vessel-wall-response-to-injury/) ## Topic - [**Atherosclerosis: risk factors** Age, sex and genes cannot be changed; cholesterol, blood pressure, smoking and diabetes can, and…](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/atherosclerosis-risk-factors/) - [**Vasculitis: classification and mechanisms** Vasculitis is inflammation of the vessel wall](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/vasculitis-classification-and-mechanisms/) ## Process - [**Consequences of atherosclerosis** Plaques hurt in two ways: slowly, by narrowing the artery, and suddenly, when they crack and a…](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/consequences-of-atherosclerosis/) - [**Pathology after angioplasty, stents and grafts** Opening or replacing a narrowed artery injures it again; clots and new scar tissue can close it](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/pathology-after-angioplasty-stents-and-grafts/) ## A to Z - [A](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/a-z/a/) - [B](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/a-z/b/) - [C](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/a-z/c/) - [D](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/a-z/d/) - [E](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/a-z/e/) - [F](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/a-z/f/) - [G](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/a-z/g/) - [H](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/a-z/h/) - [I](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/a-z/i/) - [J](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/a-z/j/) - [K](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/a-z/k/) - [L](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/a-z/l/) - [M](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/a-z/m/) - [N](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/a-z/n/) - [O](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/a-z/o/) - [P](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/a-z/p/) - [R](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/a-z/r/) - [S](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/a-z/s/) - [T](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/a-z/t/) - [U](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/a-z/u/) - [V](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/a-z/v/) - [W](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/a-z/w/) [← General pathology](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/) Educational content on the mechanisms of disease; not a diagnostic or treatment guide and no substitute for a health professional's advice. 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