#arteries

• Angiology — A branch of internal medicine and specialized anatomy that deals with the structural study, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disorders affecting the well-defined circulatory system, encompassing arterial, venous, and lymphatic networks. This clinical discipline plays a fundamental role in managing peripheral vascular pathologies, such as atherosclerosis obliterans, deep vein thrombosis, chronic lymphatic insufficiency, and systemic vasculitis.
• ANOCA — An international medical acronym used to describe myocardial ischemia with non-obstructive coronary arteries. This clinical syndrome manifests through chest pain (angina) and objective signs of ischemia, but angiographic investigations do not reveal major stenoses or mechanical blockages within the large epicardial coronary arteries, being driven instead by microvascular dysfunction or arterial spasms.
• Anti-ischemic — Preventing, combating, or alleviating ischemia (the reduction or cessation of blood circulation in a tissue or organ due to an arterial obstacle); a medication used in the treatment of ischemic heart disease or angina pectoris. In a clinical sense, it acts structurally by reducing myocardial oxygen consumption, dilating coronary vessels, and improving regional blood flow.
• Arteriosclerosis — A chronic, degenerative vascular condition characterized by the thickening, stiffening, and loss of elasticity of arterial walls, a process often correlated with aging or mineral deposition within the tunica media of the vessels. This umbrella term encompasses atherosclerosis (lipid plaque formation in the endothelium) and Mönckeberg's arteriosclerosis (medial calcification), leading to reduced vascular compliance, elevated systolic pressure, and impaired blood flow to vital organs.
• Atheroma — A pathological plaque or deposit composed of lipid substances (especially cholesterol), foam cells, cellular debris, and fibrous tissue that gradually accumulates within the intima tunic of large and medium arteries. Its development leads to the narrowing of the vascular lumen, reduction of arterial elasticity, and disruption of blood flow, representing the fundamental lesion of atherosclerosis.
• Atherosclerotic — Pertaining to atherosclerosis, referring to this condition, or caused by the formation of atheromatous plaques and the stiffening of the arterial wall; as a noun, it denotes a person suffering from this cardiovascular disease. In clinical diagnosis, the term qualifies a degenerative process, an occlusive lesion, or a structural modification of large vessels driven by cholesterol deposition.
• Atherosclerosis — A chronic and progressive cardiovascular disease characterized by the deposition of lipid substances (cholesterol) and calcium salts within the inner tunic of large and medium arteries, associated with connective tissue proliferation and vascular wall stiffening. This process gradually leads to the narrowing of the arterial lumen, reduced blood supply to organs, and represents the primary cause of myocardial infarction and stroke.