Vascular Pathology and Aneurysms Flashcards

Which connective tissue disorder is most strongly associated with annuloaortic ectasia and ascending aortic aneurysm?

Answer: Marfan syndrome

Marfan syndrome causes fibrillin-1 deficiency, leading to cystic medial necrosis and characteristic annuloaortic ectasia of the ascending aorta.

A popliteal artery aneurysm is found incidentally. Which complication is the most frequent cause of morbidity in popliteal aneurysms?

Answer: Distal embolization and acute limb ischemia

Popliteal aneurysms most commonly cause morbidity through thrombus embolization leading to acute or chronic limb ischemia, not rupture.

On color Doppler imaging, the classic 'yin-yang' sign is associated with which vascular abnormality?

Answer: Pseudoaneurysm

The yin-yang sign represents bidirectional swirling flow within a pseudoaneurysm sac, with red and blue halves on color Doppler.

Visceral artery aneurysms of the splenic artery are most commonly associated with which clinical condition?

Answer: Portal hypertension and multiparity

Splenic artery aneurysms are strongly associated with portal hypertension (increased splenic blood flow) and multiparity (hormonal/hemodynamic effects).

Which ultrasound measurement technique is recommended for standardized AAA surveillance to minimize inter-observer variability?

Answer: Outer wall to outer wall (O-O) measurement perpendicular to the aortic axis

Outer-to-outer wall measurement perpendicular to the vessel axis (true cross-sectional AP diameter) is the recommended standard for reproducibility.

An aortic aneurysm that extends above the renal arteries is classified as:

Answer: Suprarenal

A suprarenal aneurysm involves aortic dilation above the level of the renal artery origins.

Which duplex ultrasound finding in an arteriovenous fistula (AVF) differentiates it from a pseudoaneurysm?

Answer: Arterialized (pulsatile, low-resistance) flow in the adjacent vein

The hallmark of an AVF is arterialized (pulsatile, high-velocity, low-resistance) flow detected in the draining vein due to direct arteriovenous communication.