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Aneurysms Essay

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To begin with, the word aneurysm derives from the Latin word “aneurysma.” In Latin “aneurysma” means dilation and dilation means that act of expanding. From this, it is easier to figure out what an aneurysm really is. The definition of the English word aneurysm means, blood-filled dilation of a blood vessel. There are several different types of aneurysm, but this report will only cover a cerebral one. Intracranial aneurysms are classified as dissecting, saccular, and fusiform. There are many causes of intracranial aneurysms. Some of the most common causes would include fibromuscular dysphasia, atherosclerosis, and arteriovenous malformation. Some that are less common, but do occur would include drugs, infection, and trauma. Dissecting …show more content…

Saccular aneurysms are the most common and are easily identified because of the berrylike sacs on the veins or arteries. They are caused by weakness in the vessel wall layers. The sac itself grows from the intima and adventitia of an vessel. When this occurs abnormal hemodynamic pressure on the cerebral arteries causes rupture. Saccular aneurysm can be caused by infections, tumors, or drugs. Aneurysms occur to people in their early forties to their late fifties. Most aneurysms occur to people that are around age sixty. Intracranial aneurysms are rare to children and only account for 2% of the total aneurysms. The younger the patient with an intracranial aneurysm the larger the sac. Location is a big part in classifying the type of aneurysm. About 86.5% of all intracranial aneurysms occurs in the carotid region. The pieces all fall to place when using the Hunt and Hess scale, which measures the current status of the expansion. There is a grade 0 to grade 5 scale. Zero is a non ruptured aneurysm and 5 is basically the point were there is not much doctors can do to make the patient live. Vasospasm is the term used when a constriction of a vein or artery occurs. It is also the cause of death when an aneurysm occurs. More than 50% of all surviving patients that get an intracranial aneurysm have neurological defects. Treatment is wonderful when treating intracranial aneurysm. The most common approach is surgery, because blood

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