A stenosis (from

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic pe ...

στενός, "narrow") is an abnormal narrowing in a

blood vessel The blood vessels are the components of the circulatory system that transport blood throughout the human body. These vessels transport blood cells, nutrients, and oxygen to the tissues of the body. They also take waste and carbon dioxide awa ...

or other tubular

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

or structure such as foramina and canals. It is also sometimes called a stricture (as in urethral stricture). ''Stricture'' as a term is usually used when narrowing is caused by contraction of

smooth muscle Smooth muscle is an involuntary non- striated muscle, so-called because it has no sarcomeres and therefore no striations (''bands'' or ''stripes''). It is divided into two subgroups, single-unit and multiunit smooth muscle. Within single-unit ...

(e.g. achalasia,

prinzmetal angina Variant angina, also known as Prinzmetal angina, vasospastic angina, angina inversa, coronary vessel spasm, or coronary artery vasospasm, is a syndrome typically consisting of angina (cardiac chest pain). Variant angina differs from stable angina ...

); ''stenosis'' is usually used when narrowing is caused by lesion that reduces the space of lumen (e.g. atherosclerosis). The term coarctation is another synonym, but is commonly used only in the context of

aortic coarctation Coarctation of the aorta (CoA or CoAo), also called aortic narrowing, is a congenital condition whereby the aorta is narrow, usually in the area where the ductus arteriosus (ligamentum arteriosum after regression) inserts. The word ''coarctation' ...

. Restenosis is the recurrence of stenosis after a procedure.

Types

The resulting syndrome depends on the structure affected. Examples of vascular stenotic lesions include: *

Intermittent claudication Intermittent claudication, also known as vascular claudication, is a symptom that describes muscle pain on mild exertion (ache, cramp, numbness or sense of fatigue), classically in the calf muscle, which occurs during exercise, such as walking, an ...

(peripheral artery stenosis) * Angina ( coronary artery stenosis) * Carotid artery stenosis which predispose to (

stroke A stroke is a disease, medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemorr ...

s and transient ischaemic episodes) * Renal artery stenosis The types of stenoses in heart valves are: * Pulmonary valve stenosis, which is the thickening of the pulmonary valve, therefore causing narrowing * Mitral valve stenosis, which is the thickening of the

mitral valve The mitral valve (), also known as the bicuspid valve or left atrioventricular valve, is one of the four heart valves. It has two cusps or flaps and lies between the left atrium and the left ventricle of the heart. The heart valves are all on ...

(of the left heart), therefore causing narrowing *

Tricuspid valve stenosis Tricuspid valve stenosis is a valvular heart disease that narrows the opening of the heart's tricuspid valve. It is a relatively rare condition that causes stenosis (increased restriction of blood flow through the valve). Cause Causes of tricuspi ...

, which is the thickening of the tricuspid valve (of the right heart), therefore causing narrowing * Aortic valve stenosis, which is the thickening of the aortic valve, therefore causing narrowing Stenoses/strictures of other bodily structures/organs include: * Pyloric stenosis ( gastric outflow obstruction) * Lumbar, cervical or thoracic spinal stenosis *

Subglottic stenosis Subglottic stenosis is a congenital or acquired narrowing of the subglottic airway. It can be congenital, acquired, iatrogenic, or very rarely, idiopathic. It is defined as the narrowing of the portion of the airway that lies between the vocal cor ...

(SGS) * Tracheal stenosis * Obstructive jaundice ( biliary tract stenosis) * Bowel obstruction * Phimosis * Non-communicating hydrocephalus due to aqueductal stenosis * Stenosing tenosynovitis * Atherosclerosis *

Esophageal stricture A benign esophageal stricture, or peptic stricture, is a narrowing or tightening of the esophagus that causes swallowing difficulties. Signs and symptoms Symptoms of esophageal strictures include heartburn, bitter or acid taste in the mouth, chok ...

* Achalasia *

Prinzmetal angina Variant angina, also known as Prinzmetal angina, vasospastic angina, angina inversa, coronary vessel spasm, or coronary artery vasospasm, is a syndrome typically consisting of angina (cardiac chest pain). Variant angina differs from stable angina ...

* Vaginal stenosis *

Meatal stenosis Urethral meatal stenosis is a narrowing ( stenosis) of the opening of the urethra at the external meatus , thus constricting the opening through which urine leaves the body from the urinary bladder. Symptoms and signs * Abnormal strength and ...

Causes

* alcohol * atherosclerosis causes stenotic lesions in arteries. *

birth defect A birth defect, also known as a congenital disorder, is an abnormal condition that is present at birth regardless of its cause. Birth defects may result in disabilities that may be physical, intellectual, or developmental. The disabilities ca ...

s *

calcification Calcification is the accumulation of calcium salts in a body tissue. It normally occurs in the formation of bone, but calcium can be deposited abnormally in soft tissue,Miller, J. D. Cardiovascular calcification: Orbicular origins. ''Nature M ...

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

* headbanging – as in the case of

Dave Mustaine David Scott Mustaine (born September 13, 1961) is an American musician. He is the co-founder, lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and primary songwriter of the thrash metal band Megadeth, as well as their sole consistent member. Mustaine has rele ...

* iatrogenic, e.g. secondary to

radiation therapy Radiation therapy or radiotherapy, often abbreviated RT, RTx, or XRT, is a therapy using ionizing radiation, generally provided as part of cancer treatment to control or kill malignant cells and normally delivered by a linear accelerator. Rad ...

infection An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable di ...

inflammation Inflammation (from la, inflammatio) is part of the complex biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants, and is a protective response involving immune cells, blood vessels, and molec ...

ischemia Ischemia or ischaemia is a restriction in blood supply to any tissue, muscle group, or organ of the body, causing a shortage of oxygen that is needed for cellular metabolism (to keep tissue alive). Ischemia is generally caused by problems w ...

neoplasm A neoplasm () is a type of abnormal and excessive growth of tissue. The process that occurs to form or produce a neoplasm is called neoplasia. The growth of a neoplasm is uncoordinated with that of the normal surrounding tissue, and persists ...

– in such cases, the stenosis is often said to be " malignant" or " benign", although this attribute actually refers to the neoplasm itself. *

smoking Smoking is a practice in which a substance is burned and the resulting smoke is typically breathed in to be tasted and absorbed into the bloodstream. Most commonly, the substance used is the dried leaves of the tobacco plant, which have b ...

* ureteral *

urethra The urethra (from Greek οὐρήθρα – ''ourḗthrā'') is a tube that connects the urinary bladder to the urinary meatus for the removal of urine from the body of both females and males. In human females and other primates, the urethra ...

Diagnosis

Stenoses of the vascular type are often associated with unusual blood sounds resulting from turbulent flow over the narrowed blood vessel. This sound can be made audible by a

stethoscope The stethoscope is a medical device for auscultation, or listening to internal sounds of an animal or human body. It typically has a small disc-shaped resonator that is placed against the skin, and one or two tubes connected to two earpieces. ...

, but diagnosis is generally made or confirmed with some form of medical imaging.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Gross pathology Medical terminology

Types

Causes

Diagnosis

See also

References

External links