Cor Vasa 2009, 51(9):595-599 | DOI: 10.33678/cor.2009.145

Dissecting aneurysm of the aorta secondary to idiopathic cystic medionecrosis

Vladimír Bartoš^1,2,*, Lívia Jančiová¹, Jaroslav Ivan¹, Jana Doboszová², Martin Péč³

¹ Súdnolekárske a patologickoanatomické pracovisko, Úrad pre dohľad nad zdravotnou starostlivosťou v Žiline

² Oddelenie patologickej anatómie, Nemocnica s poliklinikou, Žilina

³ Ústav lekárskej biológie, Jeseniova lekárska fakulta Univerzity Komenského, Martin, Slovenská republika

Dissecting aneurysm of the aorta belongs to the most dangerous conditions of the cardiovascular system. This sudden and usually life-threatening event is characterized by tearing of the intima and subsequent splitting of the aortic wall, particularly the media. The bloodstream spreads into the vascular wall and a true lumen and a false lumen are formed. The vessel becomes weaker; this is accompanied by intramural hematoma formation that leads to aneurysmatic dilatation of the aorta. In fatal cases, lethal rupture of the adventitia occurs followed by massive hemorrhage into the thoracic cavity or pericardial sac causing cardiac tamponade leading to death. Dissections of the thoracic aorta have been classified anatomically by several methods, but the most commonly used systems are Stanford and DeBakey classifications. This disease can be caused by various nosological entities, but one of the most frequent ones is so called idiopathic cystic medionecrosis of the aorta. This disease is characterized by focal degeneration of the elastic tissue and the smooth muscle layer in the media, associated with mucoid material accumulation. The authors of the article report a sudden and fatal course of thoracic aorta dissection in a young woman caused by this pathological entity.

Keywords: Dissecting aneurysm; Aortic dissection; Idiopathic cystic medionecrosis of the aorta

Published: September 1, 2009  Show citation