Artery spasm, coronary
Artery spasm, coronary: A sudden constriction of a coronary artery that deprives the heart muscle of blood and oxygen. This can cause a type of sudden chest pain referred to as variant angina or Prinzmetal angina. Coronary artery spasm can be triggered by emotional stress, medicines, street drugs (particularly cocaine), and exposure to extreme cold. Treatments include the use of beta-blocker medications and, classically, nitroglycerin to allow the coronary arteries to open.
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- Artery, central retinal
Artery, central retinal: The blood vessel that carries blood into the eye and supplies nutrition to the retina. The counterpart to the central retinal artery is the central retinal vein, the vessel that carries blood away from the retina.
- Artery, hepatic
Artery, hepatic: An artery that distributes blood to the liver, pancreas and gallbladder as well as to the stomach and duodenal portion of the small intestine.
- Artery, mesenteric
Artery, mesenteric: One of the arteries that arises from the abdominal portion of the aorta and distributes blood to most of the intestines.
- Artery, ophthalmic
Artery, ophthalmic: The ophthalmic artery supplies blood to the eye and adjacent structures of face. It arises from the internal carotid artery that courses up deep within the front of the neck.
- Artery, splenic
Artery, splenic: A large artery within the abdomen that arises from an arterial vessel called the celiac trunk, which emerges from the aorta. The splenic artery supplies blood not only to the spleen, but also to the esophagus, stomach, duodenum, liver, and pancreas.