Arterial Terms

Acute

Recent; onset

Ambulation

Patients who can walk

Anastomosis

Surgical connection between two tubular structures that aren’t normally connected

Bypass graft

Surgical procedure from a healthy blood vessel to be used to reroute blood flow around blocked artery; restoring circulation to heart

Chronic

Findings found after acute period

Claudication

Pain in muscles occurring during exercise but subsides with rest

Compartment Syndrome

Swelling within compartments of the legs, arms, or abdomen

Continuous Wave Doppler

Handheld probe using two piezoelectric crystals; uses a zero-crossing frequency meter to display signals graphically on a strip chart recorder

Contraindication

Something that makes a particular treatment or procedure inadvisable

Cyanosis

Bluish discoloration of the skin; occurs when there’s a concentration of deoxygenated hemoglobin

Dependent Rubor

Reddish discoloration of the skin on the feet and legs that appears when they are in a dependent position (hanging down below level of heart)

Dicrotic Notch

Secondary upstroke in descending part of a pulse tracing corresponding to transient increase in aortic pressure upon closure of aortic valve

Embolism

Blood clot that is formed elsewhere in the body that travels to another part of the body through the bloodstream

Fistula

Abnormal connection between two structures

Gangrene

Tissue death due to lack of blood supply, disease, or direct injury

In Situ

In the natural or original position or place; great saphenous vein (GSV) is left in place with the proximal and distal end anastomosed to the required artery segments

Ischemia

Deficient supply of blood to part of the body that is due to an obstruction of the inflow of arterial flow

Necrosis

Tissue death

Piezoelectric Crystals

Used to transmit/ receive ultrasound waves continuously

Thromboangiitis Obliterans

Rare inflammatory disease that primarily affects blood vessels in the hands and feet

Trophic Changes

Abnormalities in the area of pain; thin/ scaly skin, hairless, and thickened toenails

Ulcer

Sore on the skin or a mucous membrane that fails to heal properly, often associated with circulation issues

Vasoconstriction

Narrowing of the lumen of blood vessels

Vasodilation

Widening of the lumen of blood vessels