Vasculitis

Vasculitis is inflammation of blood-vessel walls that can narrow or block vessels, weaken them, and damage tissues by disrupting blood flow.

Vessel wall: The layered tissue structure surrounding a blood vessel’s lumen. Inflammation affects these layers and can thicken, narrow, or weaken them.
Blood vessel: A tubular structure that carries blood through the body. Vasculitis is defined by inflammation affecting these structures.
Biopsy: The removal and microscopic examination of tissue to diagnose disease. A tissue sample can reveal vessel-wall inflammation and help identify its pattern.
Atherosclerosis: A chronic arterial disease involving lipid-rich plaques, inflammation, and progressive vessel narrowing. It narrows vessels through plaque buildup rather than primary vessel-wall vasculitis.
Granulomatosis with polyangiitis: A necrotizing small- and medium-vessel vasculitis associated with granulomatous inflammation and often affecting the respiratory tract and kidneys. It links upper-airway disease, lung involvement, and kidney inflammation in one syndrome.
Endothelium: The thin layer of cells lining the interior surface of blood vessels. Endothelial injury can initiate or amplify vessel-wall inflammation.
Artery: A blood vessel that carries blood away from the heart. Many major vasculitis syndromes primarily affect arteries.
Angiography: Imaging of blood vessels using contrast material to show their structure and blood flow. It can detect narrowing, blockage, or aneurysms in larger affected vessels.
Thrombosis: The formation of a blood clot within a blood vessel. A clot can obstruct blood flow without inflammation being the primary cause.
Microscopic polyangiitis: A necrotizing small-vessel vasculitis that commonly affects the kidneys and lungs without granulomatous inflammation. Its overlap with granulomatosis with polyangiitis highlights the importance of tissue patterns.

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