A<unk>  is a kind of atheromatous<unk>  – a collection of white blood cells (primarily macrophages) and lipids (including cholesterol) in the wall of an artery – that is particularly unstable and prone to produce sudden major problems such as a heart attack or stroke. The defining characteristics of a<unk>  include but are not limited to: a thin fibrous cap, large lipid-rich necrotic core, increased<unk>  inflammation, positive vascular remodeling, increased vasa-vasorum neovascularization, and intra-plaque hemorrhage. These characteristics together with the usual hemodynamic pulsating expansion during systole and elastic recoil contraction during diastole contribute to a high mechanical stress zone on the fibrous cap of the atheroma, making it prone to rupture. Increased hemodynamic stress, e.g. increased blood pressure, especially pulse pressure (systolic blood pressure vs. diastolic blood pressure difference), correlates with increased rates of major cardiovascular events associated with exercise, especially exercise beyond levels the individual does routinely. Generally an atheroma becomes<unk>  if it grows more rapidly and has a thin cover separating it from the bloodstream inside the arterial lumen. Tearing of the cover is called<unk>  rupture. However, a repeated atheroma rupture and healing is one of the mechanisms, perhaps the dominant one, that creates artery stenosis.
Vulnerable plaque
Tincture
Circumcision
Cameron lesions
Squamous intraepithelial lesion
Precancerous condition
Bezoar
Amalgam tattoo