This article does not cite any references or sources. (August 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

Look up Infarction in
Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

In medicine, an infarction is the process resulting in a macroscopic area of necrotic tissue in some organ caused by loss of adequate blood supply. Supplying arteries may be blocked from within by some obstruction (e.g. a blood clot or fatty cholesterol deposit), or may be mechanically compressed or ruptured by trauma. Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... Wiktionary (a portmanteau of wiki and dictionary) is a multilingual, Web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 151 languages. ... For the chemical substances known as medicines, see medication. ... Macroscopic is commonly used to describe physical objects that are measurable and observable by the naked eye. ... Necrosis (in Greek Νεκρός = Dead) is the name given to accidental death of cells and living tissue. ... For other uses, see Artery (disambiguation). ... A thrombus is the final product of blood coagulation, through the aggregation of platelets and the activation of the humoral coagulation system. ... Cholesterol is a sterol (a combination steroid and alcohol). ...

Infarction is commonly associated with atherosclerosis, where an atherosclerotic plaque ruptures, a thrombus forms on the surface occluding the blood flow and occasionally forming an embolus that occludes other blood vessels downstream. Infarction can also involve mechanical blockage of the blood supply, such as when part of the gut herniates or twists. For Trombe wall (used in solar homes), see Trombe wall. ... A term indicating that the state of something, which is normally open, is now totally closed. ... In medicine, an embolism occurs when an object (the embolus, plural emboli) migrates from one part of the body (through the circulation) and cause(s) a blockage (occlusion) of a blood vessel in another part of the body. ... Look up hernia in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A volvulus is a loop of the bowel whose nose has twisted on itself. ...

Infarctions are divided into two types according the amount of hemorrhaging present: This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...

• White infarctions (anemic infarcts) affect solid organs such as the heart, spleen, and kidneys. The occlusion is most often composed of platelets, and the organ becomes white, or pale.
• Red infarctions (hemorrhagic infarcts), generally affecting the lungs. The occlusion consists more of red blood cells and fibrin strands.

Diseases commonly associated with infarctions include: The heart and lungs, from an older edition of Grays Anatomy. ... The spleen is an organ located in the abdomen, where it functions in the destruction of old red blood cells and holding a reservoir of blood. ... Kidneys viewed from behind with spine removed The kidneys are bean-shaped excretory organs in vertebrates. ... A 250 ml bag of newly collected platelets. ... For the village in Tibet, see Lung, Tibet. ... “Red cell” redirects here. ... Fibrin is a protein involved in the clotting of blood. ...

• Myocardial infarction (heart attack)
• Pulmonary embolism ("lung attack")
• Cerebrovascular accident (stroke – 80% are due to infarction)
• Peripheral artery occlusive disease (the most severe form of which is gangrene)
• Antiphospholipid syndrome
• Sepsis
• Giant-cell arteritis (GCA)
• Hernia
• Volvulus