Webster's New World Medical Dictionary

angiokeratoma corporis diffusum universale
See 
Fabry disease.
angioneurotic edema, hereditary
See
angioedema, hereditary.
angiopathy
Disease of the arteries, veins, and
capillaries. There are two types of angiopathy:
microangiopathy and macroangiopathy. In microan-
giopathy, the walls of small blood vessels become so
thick and weak that they bleed, leak protein, and
slow the flow of blood. For example, diabetics may
develop microangiopathy with thickening of capil-
laries in many areas, including the eye. In macroan-
giopathy, fat and blood clots build up in the large
blood vessels, stick to the vessel walls, and block
the flow of blood. Macroangiopathy in the heart is
coronary artery disease; in the brain, it is cere-
brovascular disease. Peripheral vascular disease is
macroangiopathy that affects, for example, vessels
in the legs.
angioplasty
A procedure in which a balloon-
tipped catheter is used to enlarge a narrowing in a
coronary artery caused by arteriosclerosis. Also
known as percutaneous transluminal coronary
angioplasty (PTCA). See also 
arteriosclerosis.
angiosarcoma
A form of tissue cancer (sar-
coma) that arises in the lining of blood vessels.
Angiosarcomas tend to be aggressive, recur locally,
and spread widely. Predisposing factors include
lymphedema (as from a radical mastectomy),
radiotherapy, foreign materials (such as steel and
plastic) in the body, and environmental agents
(such as arsenic solutions used to spray grapevines
and vinyl chloride in the plastic industry).
angiostatin
A fragment of a protein, plasmino-
gen, that is involved in blood clotting. Angiostatin is
normally secreted by tumors, and it appears to halt
the process of developing new blood vessels, which
is necessary to tumor development.
angiotensin
A family of peptides that constrict
blood vessels. Narrowing the diameter of the blood
vessels causes blood pressure to rise.