Acquired abdominal aortic aneurysm.

phy. There was, therefore, a real increase in the incidIntroduction ence of abdominal aortic aneurysms. Smoking could be one of the risk factors. Auerbach [2] noted eight Acquired abdominal aortic aneurysms classically are times more abdominal aortic aneurysms in smokers characterized anatomically by an unparallelism of the than in non-smokers. Abdominal aortic aneurysms are aorta edges, resulting in an expanded and beating clearly predominant in men (sex ratio=8/1). Also, abdominal mass. The pathophysiology consists of a popliteal or femoral aneurysms are found almost loss of vascular contention, including a risk of rupture. exclusively in men. The main determining factor of Indeed, the arterial wall fulfils several haemodynamic aneurysmal disease is age. The link between age and functions of blood tissue distribution, damping of the the incidence of aneurysms is probably related, among pulse wave, etc. The most elementary of these functions other factors, to the widening of the aortic lumen, is containing high pressure blood within the arterial equally observed in man and in animals [4]. This lumen. Arterial wall aneurysmal diseases are characterdilation phenomenon of large arterial trunks is intrinsized by partial (dilation) or total (rupture) loss of ically linked to age, unrelated to blood pressure and integrity. In the wall of large arterial trunks, the probably related to modifications of the extracellular extracellular matrix predominantly contributes to conmatrix composition. taining blood inside vessels. The extracellular matrix A major factor controlling the choice of surgical of the arterial wall is essentially composed of collagen treatment is the size of the aneurysm, because it was fibres and elastin, with proteoglycans and structural established, clinically and through autopsy studies, glycoproteins such as fibrillin as interand peri-fibre that large aneurysms rupture more often. Cronenwett’s ligands. More simply, elastin is implicated mainly in study [5] defined the risk of rupture by multifactorial arterial wall resistance to dilation whereas connection analysis of the incidence of rupture in relation to 18 proteins, collagen and fibrillin, are involved mainly in variables. Diastolic blood pressure, baseline anteroresistance to rupture. Contrary to classical, stenotic posterior diameter and the existence of chronic atheroma, an essentially arterial intima pathology, obstructive airways disease are independent predictors large vessel acquired aneurysm is a disorder of the of rupture. arterial wall media characterized by the destruction of the extracellular matrix components, elastin in particular, associated with a reconstruction phenomenon, essentially fibrous, and remodelling the vessel in an Incidence of discrete aneurysmal disease aneurysmal fashion under the effect of tensional stress.