Infarction and Embolism

Question 1

What is infarction?

Answer 1

An area of tissue ischaemic necrosis

Question 2

How does a thrombosis vary from am embolism?

Answer 2

Thrombosis forms in situ (e.g. coronary artery thrombosis in MI)

Emboli are thrombi that have fragmented and broken off, which usually travel and entrap a small vessel downstream (e.g. lungs.kidneys.spleen)

Question 3

How common are venous infarcts?

What causes a venous infarct?

Which places are most common for venous infarcts?

Answer 3

Quite uncommon as most tissues have many venous anatomoses

They are usually caused by the arrest of blood

Volvulus causing mesenteric infarcts
Testicular or ovarian torsion causing infarcts

Question 4

What 4 ways (2 groups of 2) can you categorise infarcts?

Answer 4

White (arterial) or red (venous)

Bland or septic (presence of bacteria)

Question 5

What are the 2 types of MI clinically and pathologically?

Answer 5

STEMI = TRANSMURAL infarct = full or almost full thickness ventricular infarct

NSTEMI = SUBENDOCARDIAL infarct = inner third of at most half of the ventricular thickness is infarcts