Vasculitis

Vasculitis describes generalized inflammation of vessels. Vasculitides carry a broad range of clinical presentations and as a whole can involve almost any organ system.

Pathology

Some vasculitides are due to direct vessel injury from an infectious agent. However, a large proportion show evidence of immune complex related vessel wall injury.

Classification

There are many, often overlapping, types of classification:

• Lie classification of vasculitis (1994)

• 2012 revised International Chapel Hill Consensus Conference nomenclature of vasculitides

See also

• pulmonary vasculitides

• central nervous system vasculitis