A
stenosis (
pluralPlural, commonly abbreviated pl., 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.-English:...
:
stenoses; from
Ancient GreekAncient Greek is the historical stage in the development of the Greek language spanning across the Archaic , Classical , and Hellenistic periods of ancient Greece and the ancient world. It is predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
στένωσις, "narrowing") is an abnormal narrowing in a
blood vesselThe blood vessels are the part of the circulatory system that transport blood throughout the body. There are three major types of blood vessels: the arteries, which carry the blood away from the heart, the capillaries, which enable the actual exchange of water and chemicals between the blood and...
or other tubular
organIn biology and anatomy, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in structural unit to serve a common function ....
or structure.
It is also sometimes called a "stricture" (as in
urethral strictureA urethral stricture is a narrowing of the urethra caused by injury or disease such as urinary tract infections or other forms of urethritis.-Presentation:...
).
The term "coarctation" is synonymous, but is commonly used only in the context of
aortic coarctationCoarctation of the aorta, or aortic coarctation, is a congenital condition whereby the aorta narrows in the area where the ductus arteriosus inserts.-Types:There are three types:...
.
Diagnosis
Stenoses of the
vascularThe blood vessels are the part of the circulatory system that transport blood throughout the body. There are three major types of blood vessels: the arteries, which carry the blood away from the heart, the capillaries, which enable the actual exchange of water and chemicals between the blood and...
type are often associated with
unusual blood soundsBruit is the term for the unusual sound that blood makes when it rushes past an obstruction in an artery when the sound is auscultated with the bell portion of a stethoscope....
resulting from turbulent flow over the narrowed blood vessel. This bruit can be made audible by a
stethoscopeThe stethoscope is an acoustic medical device for auscultation, or listening to the internal sounds of an animal body. It is often used to listen to heart sounds. It is also used to listen to intestines and blood flow in arteries and veins...
but diagnosis is generally made or confirmed with some form of
medical imagingMedical imaging refers to the techniques and processes used to create images 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...
.
Causes
- atherosclerosis
Atherosclerosis is the condition in which an artery wall thickens as the result of a build-up of fatty materials such as cholesterol...
causes stenotic lesions in arteries.
- birth defects
- diabetes
- iatrogenic, e.g. secondary to radiation therapy
Radiation therapy is the medical use of ionizing radiation as part of cancer treatment to control malignant cells . Radiotherapy may be used for curative or adjuvant cancer treatment...
- 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's resources to multiply, usually at the expense of the host. The infecting organism, or pathogen, interferes with the normal functioning of the...
- inflammation
Inflammation is the complex biological response of vascular tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants. Inflammation is a protective attempt by the organism to remove the injurious stimuli as well as initiate the healing process for the tissue. Inflammation is not a...
- 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...
- neoplasm
- smoking
Smoking is a practice where a substance, most commonly tobacco, is burned and the smoke tasted or inhaled. This is primarily practised as a route of administration for recreational drug use, as combustion releases the active substances in drugs such as nicotine and makes them available for...
- ureter
In human anatomy, the ureters are muscular ducts that propel urine from the kidneys to the urinary bladder. In the adult, the ureters are usually long....
al
- urethra
In anatomy, the urethra is a tube which connects the urinary bladder to the outside of the body. The urethra has an excretory function in both sexes to pass urine to the outside, and also a reproductive function in the male, as a passage for semen.The external urethral sphincter is a striated...
l
Types
The resulting syndrome depends on the structure affected.
Examples of vascular stenotic lesions include:
- 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 stenosis is a narrowing or constriction of the inner surface of the carotid artery, usually caused by atherosclerosis .The carotid artery is the large artery whose pulse can be felt on both sides of the neck under the jaw. It starts from the aorta as the common carotid artery, and at the...
which predispose to (strokeA stroke is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by thrombosis or embolism or due to a hemorrhage...
s and transient ischaemic episodes)
- 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 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 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 , from the Greek phimos , is a condition where, in men, the male foreskin cannot be fully retracted from the head of the penis...
- Hydrocephalus
Hydrocephalus , also known as "water on the brain", is a medical condition. People with hydrocephalus have an abnormal accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid in the ventricles, or cavities, of the brain. This may cause increased intracranial pressure inside the skull and progressive enlargement of...
- 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....
- 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 common occurrence of spinal degeneration that occurs with aging. It can also sometimes be caused by spinal disc herniation, osteoporosis or a tumor...
- 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 . Subglottic stenosis can present as a life-threatening airway emergency...
(SGS)
External links