atherosclerosisn.
/ˌaθ(ə)rəʊsklᵻˈrəʊsɪs/, /ˌaθ(ə)rəʊsklɛˈrəʊsɪs/, U.S. /ˌæθəˌroʊskləˈroʊsəs/ Medicine.
A form of arteriosclerosis in which there is lipid accumulation and fibrous plaque formation in the intimal layer of large and medium-sized arteries, often complicated by ulceration and calcification of the plaques.Atherosclerosis is a major cause of illness and death, esp. in the developed world. Its pathogenesis is complex, involving both injury to the arterial endothelium and deposition of lipids from the blood; known risk factors include hypertension, elevated blood lipids, smoking, and diabetes mellitus.
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the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of internal organs > vascular disorders > [noun] > arteriosclerosis
hardening1831
arteriosclerosis1860
atheroma1875
atherosclerosis1904
1904 Lancet 28 May 1536/2 The process should be termed athero-sclerosis or sclero-atherosis of the arteries.
1949 H. W. C. Vines Green's Man. Pathol. (ed. 17) iii. 48 Arteries above the calibre of arterioles may undergo..atherosclerosis, a peculiar type of fatty infiltration and degeneration affecting the intima primarily.
1964 Listener 20 Feb. 311/2 Atherosclerosis..is known to be associated with certain biochemical abnormalities in the blood—raised levels of serum cholesterol and other components.
1990 J. Bishop & M. Waldholz Genome ix. 186 Some genetic combinations were unable to handle even a modest increase in dietary fat, particularly animal fat, rendering their inheritors susceptible to early atherosclerosis and early heart attacks.
2003 Washington Post 17 Apr. (Home ed.) a6/1 They lose their hair, their skin wrinkles and they die of atherosclerosis..by their early teens.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2008; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1904