atheroma

American  

[ath-uh-roh-muh] / ˌæθ əˈroʊ mə /

noun

Pathology.

plural

atheromas, atheromata

1. a sebaceous cyst.

2. a mass of yellowish fatty and cellular material that forms in and beneath the inner lining of the arterial walls.

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atheroma British  

/ ˌæθəˈrəʊmə, -ˈrəʊ-, ˌæθəˈrɒmətəs /

noun

1. pathol a fatty deposit on or within the inner lining of an artery, often causing an obstruction to the blood flow

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Other Word Forms

• atheromatous adjective

Etymology

Origin of atheroma

1700–10; < New Latin, Latin: a tumor filled with gruellike matter < Greek athḗrōma, equivalent to athḗr ( ē ) gruel + -ōma -oma

Example Sentences

He did not know it but the arteries leading to his legs were clogged with a fatty cholesterol-like substance�what physicians call an atheroma.

From Time Magazine Archive

Fatty degeneration and calcification of the middle and outer coats may occur, and large, hard, calcareous plates project inward, upon which thrombi may form or may exist in connection with atheroma of the inner coat.

From Special Report on Diseases of the Horse by Michener, Charles B.

Arteriosclerosis frequently reaches a stage when the blood pressure is low, and with atheroma of the arteries of the arms a true blood pressure is difficult to obtain.

From Disturbances of the Heart by Osborne, Oliver T. (Oliver Thomas)

It has been met with in cases of cardiac dilatation, aortic atheroma, cerebral hemorrhage, tubercular meningitis, and ur�mia.

From A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I Volume 1: Pathology and General Diseases by Various

Except for the remote danger of clot formation on the uneven or eroded spot, these places are of no special significance, and are not to be confused with the atheroma of nodular sclerosis.

From Arteriosclerosis and Hypertension: with Chapters on Blood Pressure, 3rd Edition. by Warfield, Louis Marshall