Vascular disease

The article covers vascular disease. Vasculitides are covered in a separate article called vasculitides.

Great vessels

When things go wrong here, you see a cardiac surgeon.

Aortic dissection

Associations

Heritable:

• Marfan's syndrome.
• Loeys-Dietz syndrome.
  • Marfan-like syndrome.
• Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.
• Bicuspid aortic valve.

Others:

• Tertiary syphilis.

Cystic medial degeneration

General

• AKA cystic medial necrosis.
  • Often not cystic and not necrotic.

Microscopic

Features:

• Basophilic ground substance in the media (seen on Movat's stain).
• Disruption of the elastic lamina (seen on elastic trichrome stain).
• +/-Focal necrosis.

Images: Marfan's syndrome (radiographics.rsna.org).

Medial calcific sclerosis

• AKA Moenckeberg medial calcific sclerosis.

General

• Usually of no clinical consequence.

Microscopic

Features:

• Medial calcification (purple irregular stuff -- calcium phosphate).

Note:

• Lumen unaffected.

See also

• Heart.
• Cardiovascular pathology.
• Vasculitides.