NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Angiodysplasia

In medicine (gastroenterology), angiodysplasia is a small vascular malformation of the gut. It can be a source of gastrointestinal bleeding and anemia. Image File history File linksMetadata Argon_plasma_coagulation. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Argon_plasma_coagulation. ... Argon plasma coagulation administered via probe through the colonoscope at an angiodysplasia in the colon. ... Heydes syndrome is a syndrome of aortic valve stenosis associated with gastrointestinal bleeding from colonic angiodysplasia. ... Aortic valve stenosis (AS) is a heart condition caused by the incomplete opening of the aortic valve. ... This article is about the field of medical practice and health care. ... Gastroenterology or gastrology is the medical specialty concerned with the field of digestive diseases. ... The arterial system The blood vessels are part of the circulatory system and function to transport blood throughout the body. ... For the Physics term GUT, please refer to Grand unification theory The gastrointestinal or digestive tract, also referred to as the GI tract or the alimentary canal or the gut, is the system of organs within multicellular animals which takes in food, digests it to extract energy and nutrients, and... Gastrointestinal bleeding describes every form of hemorrhage (blood loss) in the gastrointestinal tract, from the pharynx to the rectum. ... This article discusses the medical condition. ...

Signs, symptoms and diagnosis

Although some cases present with black, tarry stool (melena), the blood loss can be subtle, with the anemia symptoms predominating. Fecal occult blood testing is positive when bleeding is active. If bleeding is intermittent the test may be negative. In medicine, melena or melaena refers to the black, tarry feces that are associated with gastrointestinal hemorrhage. ... Fecal occult blood is a term for blood present in the feces that is not visibly apparent. ...

Diagnosis of angiodysplasia is often accomplished with endoscopy, either colonoscopy or esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD). Although the lesions can be notoriously hard to find, the patient usually is diagnosed by endoscopy. A new technique, pill enteroscopy, has been a major advance in diagnosis. With this technique a pill that contains a video camera and radio transmitter is swallowed, and pictures of the small intestine are sent to a receiver worn by the patient. In cases with negative endoscopic findings and high clinical suspicion, selective angiography of the mesenteric arteries is sometimes necessary. Endoscopic images of a duodenal ulcer Endoscopy means looking inside and refers to looking inside the human body for medical reasons. ... Colonoscopy is the minimally invasive endoscopic examination of the large colon and the distal part of the small bowel with a fiber optic camera on a flexible tube passed through the anus. ... In medicine (gastroenterology), esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) or upper endoscopy is a diagnostic endoscopic procedure that visualises the upper part of the gastrointestinal tract. ... Angiography or arteriography is a medical imaging technique in which an X-ray picture is taken to visualize the inner opening of blood filled structures, including arteries, veins and the heart chambers. ... Mesenteric arteries can refer to: Superior mesenteric artery Inferior mesenteric artery This is a disambiguation page: a list of articles associated with the same title. ...

Pathophysiology

Its predilection locus is the cecum, although it can develop at other places. Histologically, it resembles telangiectasia. Development is related to age and strain on the bowel wall, which is thought to influence the caliber change and proliferation of the vascular tissue. In anatomy of the digestive system, the cecum or caecum is a pouch connected to the large intestine between the ileum. ... Telangiectasias Are small enlarged blood vessels near the surface of the skin, usually they measure only a few millimetres. ...

Although angiodysplasia is probably quite common, the risk of bleeding is increased in disorders of coagulation. A classic association is Heyde's syndrome (coincidence of aortic valve stenosis and bleeding from angiodysplasia). In this disorder, von Willebrand factor (vWF) is proteolysed due to high shear stress in the highly turbulent blood flow around the aortic valve. vWF is most active in vascular beds with high shear stress, including angiodysplasias, and deficiency of vWF increases the bleeding risk from such lesions. Minor traumatic bleeding from the head Bleeding is the loss of blood from the body. ... The coagulation of blood is a complex process during which blood forms solid clots. ... Heydes syndrome is a syndrome of aortic valve stenosis associated with gastrointestinal bleeding from colonic angiodysplasia. ... Aortic valve stenosis (AS) is a heart condition caused by the incomplete opening of the aortic valve. ... Von Willebrand factor is a blood glycoprotein of the coagulation system. ... Shear stress is a stress state where the shape of a material tends to change (usually by sliding forces -- torque by transversely-acting forces) without particular volume change. ...

Warkentin et al argue that apart from aortic valve stenosis, some other conditions that feature high shear stress might also increase the risk of bleeding from angiodysplasia.

Therapy

If the anemia is severe, blood transfusion is required before any other intervention is considered. Endoscopic treatment is an initial possibility, where cautery is applied through the endoscope. Resection of the affected part of the bowel may be needed. However, the lesions may be widespread, making such treatment impractical. Embolisation through angiography is occasionally contemplated with severely bleeding lesions that cannot be visualised on colonoscopy. Blood transfusion is the taking of blood or blood-based products from one individual and inserting them into the circulatory system of another. ... Endoscopic images of a duodenal ulcer Endoscopy means looking inside and refers to looking inside the human body for medical reasons. ... Resection is a method of orientation (direction or position finding) using a compass and topographic map. ... In medicine, an embolism occurs when an object (the embolus, plural emboli) migrates from one part of the body (through circulation) and cause(s) a blockage (occlusion) of a blood vessel in another part of the body. ... Angiography or arteriography is a medical imaging technique in which an X-ray picture is taken to visualize the inner opening of blood filled structures, including arteries, veins and the heart chambers. ...

Estrogens can be used to stop bleeding from angiodysplasia. Estrogens cause mild hypercoaguability of the blood. Estrogen side effects can be dangerous and unpleasant in both sexes. Changes in voice and breast swelling is bothersome in men, but older women often report improvement of libido and perimenopausal symptoms. (The worries about hormone replacement therapy/HRT, however, apply here as well.) Gynecomastia (American English) or gynaecomastia (British English) is the development of abnormally large breasts on men. ... Libido in its common usage means sexual desire, however more technical definitions, such as found in the work of Carl Jung, are more general, referring to libido as the free creative, or psychic, energy an individual has to put toward personal development, or individuation. ... Menopause is the physiological cessation of menstrual cycles associated with advancing age in species that experience such cycles. ... Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is a system of medical treatment for perimenopausal and postmenopausal women, based on the assumption that it may prevent discomfort and health problems caused by diminished circulating estrogen hormones. ...

References

Category: Gastroenterology Health science is the discipline of applied science which deals with human and animal health. ... This article is about the field of medical practice and health care. ... Gastroenterology or gastrology is the medical specialty concerned with the field of digestive diseases. ... The esophagus (also spelled oesophagus/Å“sophagus), or gullet is the muscular tube in vertebrates through which ingested food passes from the mouth area to the stomach. ... In anatomy, the stomach (in ancient Greek ÏƒÏ„ÏŒÎ¼Î±Ï‡Î¿Ï‚) is an organ in the gastrointestinal tract used to digest food. ... Halitosis (medical term, first coined by the Listerine company in 1921), oral malodour (scientific term), breath odour, or most commonly bad breath are terms used to describe noticeably unpleasant odors exhaled in breathing. ... For other uses, see Nausea (disambiguation). ... Although it has probably evolved as a mechanism for expelling ingested poisons, vomiting (or emesis)may result from many causes not related to poisoning, ranging from gastritis to brain tumors, or elevated intracranial pressure (ICP). ... Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD, or GORD when -oesophageal, the BE form, is substituted) is injury to the esophagus that develops from chronic exposure of the esophagus to acid coming up from the stomach (reflux). ... Achalasia or acalasia is a failure of a ring of muscle (as a sphincter) to relax (completely). ... Esophageal cancer is malignancy of the esophagus. ... In medicine (gastroenterology), esophageal varices are extreme dilations of sub mucosal veins in the mucosa of the esophagus in diseases featuring portal hypertension, secondary to cirrhosis primarily. ... Peptic ulcer is usually a non-malignant ulcer of the stomach (called gastric ulcer) or duodenum (called duodenal ulcer). ... Abdominal pain can be one of the symptoms associated with transient disorders or serious disease. ... Stomach cancer (also called gastric cancer) can develop in any part of the stomach and may spread throughout the stomach and to other organs, particularly the esophagus, small intestine. ... Dyspepsia is a constant pain in the stomach. ... Gastroparesis, also called delayed gastric emptying, is a disorder in which the stomach takes too long to empty its contents. ... The liver is the largest internal organ of the human body. ... The pancreas is an organ in the digestive system that serves two major functions: exocrine - it produces pancreatic juice containing digestive enzymes. ... Gall bladder Digestive system diagram showing the bile duct The gallbladder (or cholecyst sometimes gall bladder) is a pear-shaped organ that stores about 50 mL of bile (or gall) until the body needs it for digestion. ... A bile duct is any of a number of long tube-like structures that carry bile. ... Hepatitis is a gastroenterological disease, featuring inflammation of the liver. ... Cirrhosis is a consequence of chronic liver disease characterized by replacement of liver tissue by fibrotic scar tissue as well as regenerative nodules, leading to progressive loss of liver function. ... As its name signifies, Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) or Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) is fatty inflammation of the liver when this is not due to excessive alcohol use. ... Primary biliary cirrhosis is an autoimmune disease of the liver marked by the slow progressive destruction of the small bile ducts within the liver. ... Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is an inflammatory disease of the bile duct, which leads to cholestasis (blockage of bile transport to the gut). ... In medicine (gastroenterology and hepatology), Budd-Chiari syndrome is the clinical picture caused by occlusion of the hepatic vein. ... Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC, also called hepatoma or liver cancer) is a primary malignancy (cancer) of the liver. ... Acute pancreatitis is a rapidly-onset inflammation of the pancreas. ... Chronic pancreatitis can present as episodes of acute inflammation in a previously injured pancreas, or as chronic damage with persistent pain or malabsorption. ... Pancreatic cancer (also called cancer of the pancreas) is represented by the growth of a malignant tumour within the small pancreas organ. ... In medicine, gallstones (choleliths) are crystalline bodies formed within the body by accretion or concretion of normal or abnormal bile components. ... Cholecystitis is inflammation of the gallbladder. ... Diagram showing the small intestine In biology the small intestine is the part of the gastrointestinal tract between the stomach and the large intestine (colon). ... Peptic ulcer is usually a non-malignant ulcer of the stomach (called gastric ulcer) or duodenum (called duodenal ulcer). ... An intussusception is a situation in which a part of the intestine has prolapsed into another section of intestine, similar to the way in which the parts of a collapsible telescope slide into one another. ... Malabsorption is the state of impaired absorption of nutrients in the small intestine. ... Coeliac disease or celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder of the small bowel that occurs in genetically-predisposed individuals. ... Lactose intolerance is the name given to the condition (found in the majority of humans) in which lactase, an enzyme needed for proper metabolization of lactose, is not produced in adulthood. ... Fructose malabsorption is a condition in which the fructose carrier in enterocytes is deficient. ... Whipples disease is a rare disease caused by the bacteria Thropheryma whipplei. ... Lymphoma is a variety of cancer that originates in the lymphatic system. ... In anatomy of the digestive system, the colon, also called the large intestine or large bowel, is the part of the intestine from the cecum (caecum in British English) to the rectum. ... Diarrhea or diarrhoea (see spelling differences) is a condition in which the sufferer has frequent watery, loose bowel movements (from the ancient Greek word Î´Î¹Î±ÏÏÎ¿Î® = leakage; lit. ... Appendicitis, or epityphlitis, is a condition characterised by inflammation of the appendix. ... Diverticulitis is a common disease of the bowel, in particular the large intestine. ... Diverticulosis, otherwise known as diverticular disease, is the condition of having diverticula in the large colon which are outpocketings of the colonic mucosa and submucosa through weaknesses of muscle layers in the colon wall. ... In medicine, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a group of inflammatory conditions of the large intestine and, in some cases, the small intestine. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Endoscopic image of ulcerative colitis affecting the left side of the colon. ... In gastroenterology, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or spastic colon is a functional bowel disorder characterized by abdominal pain and changes in bowel habits that is not associated with any abnormalities seen on routine clinical testing. ... Constipation or irregularity, is a condition of the digestive system where a person (or animal) experiences hard feces that are difficult to eliminate; it may be extremely painful, and in severe cases (fecal impaction) lead to symptoms of bowel obstruction. ... Colorectal cancer, also called colon cancer or bowel cancer, includes cancerous growths in the colon, rectum and appendix. ... Hirschsprungs disease, or congenital aganglionic megacolon, involves an enlargement of the colon, caused by bowel obstruction resulting from an aganglionic section of bowel (the normal enteric nerves are absent) that starts at the anus and progresses upwards. ... Pseudomembranous colitis is a infection of the colon caused by the bacterium Clostridium difficile. ...

Contents

Signs, symptoms and diagnosis GA_googleFillSlot("encyclopedia_square");

Pathophysiology

Therapy

References

Signs, symptoms and diagnosis