Vegetation (pathology)

In medicine, a vegetation is an abnormal growth[1] named for its similarity to natural vegetation. Vegetations are often associated with endocarditis.[2][3][4] They can be made of fibrin[5] and platelets.[6]

Histopathology of a vegetation of bacterial endocarditis, taken from a valve repair, H&E stain.

Types

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Certain conditions are associated with specific vegetation patterns:

Condition Size Infective?
Infective endocarditis related to Staphylococcus aureus Generally large Yes
Rheumatic fever related to Streptococcus pyogenes Typically small
Libman–Sacks endocarditis related to systemic lupus erythematosus Small No (sterile)
Nonbacterial thrombotic endocarditis (NBTE) Small No (sterile)

References

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  1. ^ "Vegetation" at Dorland's Medical Dictionary
  2. ^ Miyata E, Satoh S, Inokuchi K, et al. (September 2007). "Three fatal cases of rapidly progressive infective endocarditis caused by Staphylococcus aureus: one case with huge vegetation". Circ. J. 71 (9): 1488–91. doi:10.1253/circj.71.1488. PMID 17721034.
  3. ^ Gotsman I, Meirovitz A, Meizlish N, Gotsman M, Lotan C, Gilon D (May 2007). "Clinical and echocardiographic predictors of morbidity and mortality in infective endocarditis: the significance of vegetation size". Isr. Med. Assoc. J. 9 (5): 365–9. PMID 17591374.
  4. ^ "eMedicine/Stedman Medical Dictionary Lookup!". Archived from the original on 2008-02-16.
  5. ^ "Pathology Education: Cardiovascular".
  6. ^ "eMedicine/Stedman Medical Dictionary Lookup!". Archived from the original on 2008-02-16.