MeSH D050379 | ||
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Arteriolosclerosis is a form of cardiovascular disease affecting the small arteries and arterioles.
Types include hyaline arteriolosclerosis and hyperplastic arteriolosclerosis, both associated with vessel wall thickening and luminal narrowing that may cause downstream ischemic injury. Arteriolosclerosis is most often associated with hypertension and/or diabetes mellitus.
The following terms are similar, yet distinct, in both spelling and meaning, and can be easily confused: arteriosclerosis, arteriolosclerosis, and atherosclerosis. Arteriosclerosis is a general term describing any hardening (and loss of elasticity) of medium or large arteries (from the Greek arteria, meaning artery, and sclerosis, meaning hardening); arteriolosclerosis is any hardening (and loss of elasticity) of arterioles (small arteries); atherosclerosis is a hardening of an artery specifically due to an atheromatous plaque. The term atherogenic is used for substances or processes that cause atherosclerosis.