All Topics  
Stenosis

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Stenosis
 
 
  Topics Stenosis Topic Home

A stenosis (plural
Plural

Plural is a grammatical number, typically referring to more than one of the referent in the real world. In the English language, singular and plural are the only grammatical numbers....
: stenoses; from Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek

Ancient Greek is the historical stage in the development of the Greek language spanning across the Archaic Greece , Classical Greece , and Hellenistic civilization periods of ancient Greece and the classical antiquity....
 st???s??, "narrowing") is an abnormal narrowing in a blood vessel
Blood vessel

The blood vessels are the part of the circulatory system that transport blood throughout the body. There are three major types of blood vessels: the artery, which carry the blood away from the heart, the capillary, which enable the actual exchange of water and chemicals between the blood and the tissues; and the veins, which carry blood from...
 or other tubular organ
Organ (anatomy)

In biology, an organ is a biological tissue that performs a specific function or group of functions. Usually there is a main tissue and sporadic tissues....
 or structure.

It is also sometimes called a "stricture" (as in urethral stricture
Urethral stricture

A urethral stricture is a narrowing of the urethra caused by injury or disease such as urinary tract infections or other forms of urethritis....
).

The term "coarctation" is synonymous, but is commonly used only in the context of aortic coarctation
Aortic coarctation

Coarctation of the aorta, or Aortic coarctation, is the name given to a congenital condition whereby the aorta narrows in the area where the ductus arteriosus inserts....
.

oses of the vascular
Blood vessel

The blood vessels are the part of the circulatory system that transport blood throughout the body. There are three major types of blood vessels: the artery, which carry the blood away from the heart, the capillary, which enable the actual exchange of water and chemicals between the blood and the tissues; and the veins, which carry blood from...
 type are often associated with unusual blood sounds
Bruit

Bruit is the term for the unusual sound that blood makes when it rushes past an obstruction in an artery when the sound is Auscultation with the bell portion of a stethoscope....
 resulting from turbulent flow over the narrowed blood vessel.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Stenosis'
Start a new discussion about 'Stenosis'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


A stenosis (plural
Plural

Plural is a grammatical number, typically referring to more than one of the referent in the real world. In the English language, singular and plural are the only grammatical numbers....
: stenoses; from Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek

Ancient Greek is the historical stage in the development of the Greek language spanning across the Archaic Greece , Classical Greece , and Hellenistic civilization periods of ancient Greece and the classical antiquity....
 st???s??, "narrowing") is an abnormal narrowing in a blood vessel
Blood vessel

The blood vessels are the part of the circulatory system that transport blood throughout the body. There are three major types of blood vessels: the artery, which carry the blood away from the heart, the capillary, which enable the actual exchange of water and chemicals between the blood and the tissues; and the veins, which carry blood from...
 or other tubular organ
Organ (anatomy)

In biology, an organ is a biological tissue that performs a specific function or group of functions. Usually there is a main tissue and sporadic tissues....
 or structure.

It is also sometimes called a "stricture" (as in urethral stricture
Urethral stricture

A urethral stricture is a narrowing of the urethra caused by injury or disease such as urinary tract infections or other forms of urethritis....
).

The term "coarctation" is synonymous, but is commonly used only in the context of aortic coarctation
Aortic coarctation

Coarctation of the aorta, or Aortic coarctation, is the name given to a congenital condition whereby the aorta narrows in the area where the ductus arteriosus inserts....
.

Diagnosis

Stenoses of the vascular
Blood vessel

The blood vessels are the part of the circulatory system that transport blood throughout the body. There are three major types of blood vessels: the artery, which carry the blood away from the heart, the capillary, which enable the actual exchange of water and chemicals between the blood and the tissues; and the veins, which carry blood from...
 type are often associated with unusual blood sounds
Bruit

Bruit is the term for the unusual sound that blood makes when it rushes past an obstruction in an artery when the sound is Auscultation with the bell portion of a stethoscope....
 resulting from turbulent flow over the narrowed blood vessel. This bruit can be made audible by a stethoscope
Stethoscope

The stethoscope is a acoustic medicine device for auscultation, or listening to eth internal sounds of an animal body. It is stom often used to listen to heart sounds....
 but diagnosis is generally made or confirmed with some form of medical imaging
Medical imaging

Medical imaging refers to the techniques and processes used to create s of the human body for clinical purposes or medical science .As a discipline and in its widest sense, it is part of biological imaging and incorporates radiology , radiological sciences, endoscopy, thermography, medical photography and microscopy ....
.

Causes

  • atherosclerosis
    Atherosclerosis

    Atherosclerosis is a syndrome affecting artery blood vessels. It is a chronic inflammatory response in the walls of arteries, in large part due to the accumulation of macrophage white blood cells and promoted by low density lipoproteins without adequate removal of fats and cholesterol from the macrophages by functional high density lipoprot...
     causes stenotic lesions in arteries.
  • birth defects
  • ischemia
    Ischemia

    In medicine, ischemia is a restriction in blood supply, generally due to factors in the blood vessels, with resultant damage or dysfunction of tissue....
  • infection
    Infection

    An infection is the detrimental colonization of a host organism by a foreign species. In an infection, the infecting organism seeks to utilize the host resources to multiply ....
  • neoplasm
  • inflammation
    Inflammation

    Inflammation is the complex biological response of Blood vessel tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants. It is a protective attempt by the organism to remove the injurious stimuli as well as initiate the healing process for the tissue....
  • iatrogenic, e.g. secondary to radiation therapy
    Radiation therapy

    Radiation therapy is the medicine use of ionizing radiation as part of cancer oncology to control malignant cell s . Radiotherapy may be used for curative or Adjuvant chemotherapy cancer treatment....
  • smoking
    Smoking

    Smoking is a practice where a substance, most commonly tobacco, is burned and the smoke tasted or inhaled. This is primarily done as a form of recreational drug use, as combustion releases the active substances in drugs such as nicotine and makes them available for absorption through the lungs....


Types

The resulting syndrome depends on the structure affected.

Examples of vascular stenotic lesions include:
  • Intermittent claudication
    Intermittent claudication

    Intermittent claudication is a clinical diagnosis given for muscle pain , classically calf muscle, which occurs during exercise and is relieved by a short period of rest....
     (peripheral artery stenosis)
  • Angina (coronary artery stenosis)
  • Carotid artery stenosis
    Carotid artery stenosis

    Carotid stenosis is a narrowing or constriction of the inner wall, or lumen, of the carotid artery.The carotid artery is the large artery whose pulse can be felt on both sides of the neck under the jaw....
     which predispose to (stroke
    Stroke

    A stroke is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to a disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. According to the National Stroke Association, a "stroke" occurs when a blood clot blocks and artery or a blood vessel breaks, interrupting blood flow to an area of the brain....
    s and transient ischaemic episodes)
  • Renal artery stenosis
    Renal artery stenosis

    Renal artery stenosis is the narrowing of the renal artery, most often caused by atherosclerosis or fibromuscular dysplasia. This narrowing of the renal artery can impede blood flow to the target kidney....


Stenoses/strictures of other bodily structures/organs include:
  • Pyloric stenosis
    Pyloric stenosis

    Pyloric stenosis is a condition that causes severe vomiting in the first few months of life. There is narrowing of the opening from the stomach to the intestines, due to enlargement of the muscle surrounding this opening , which spasms when the stomach empties....
     (gastric outflow obstruction)
  • Obstructive jaundice (biliary tract stenosis)
  • Bowel obstruction
    Bowel obstruction

    Bowel obstruction is a mechanical or functional obstruction of the intestines, preventing the normal transit of the products of digestion. It can occur at any level distal to the duodenum of the small intestine and is a medical emergency....
  • Phimosis
    Phimosis

    Phimosis is a condition where the foreskin cannot be fully retracted from the head of the penis. The word derives from the Greek language phimos ....
  • Hydrocephalus
    Hydrocephalus

    Hydrocephalus is a term derived from the Greek words "hydro" meaning water, and "cephalus" meaning head, and this condition is sometimes known as "water on the brain"....
  • Stenosing tenosynovitis
    Stenosing tenosynovitis

    Stenosing tenosynovitis is the progressive restriction of the sheath surrounding a tendon, causing inflammation .Two common diagnoses fall into this category: DeQuervain's syndrome and Trigger finger/thumb....
  • Spinal stenosis
    Spinal stenosis

    Spinal stenosis is a medical condition in which the spinal canal narrows and compresses the spinal cord and nerves. This is usually due to the natural process of spinal degeneration that occurs with aging....
  • Subglottic stenosis
    Subglottic stenosis

    Subglottic stenosis is a congenital or acquired narrowing of the subglottic airway. Although it is relatively rare, it is the third most common congenital airway problem ....
     (SGS)


See also

  • Restenosis
    Restenosis

    Restenosis literally means the reoccurrence of stenosis, a narrowing of a blood vessel, leading to restricted blood flow. Restenosis usually pertains to an artery or other large blood vessel that has become narrowed, received treatment to clear the blockage and subsequently become renarrowed....
  • Atresia
    Atresia

    Atresia is a condition in which a body orifice or passage in the body is abnormally closed or absent.Examples of atresia include:* Imperforate anus - malformation of the opening between the rectum and anus....


External links