Stenosis

Stenosis (from Ancient Greek στενός (stenós) 'narrow') is the abnormal narrowing of a blood vessel or other tubular organ or structure such as foramina and canals. It is also sometimes called a stricture (as in urethral stricture).

Stenosis
Other names	Stenoses

CT scan of a bronchial stenosis (arrow) that resulted from tracheobronchial injury
Pronunciation	/stəˈnoʊsɪs/

Stricture as a term is usually used when narrowing is caused by contraction of smooth muscle (e.g. achalasia, prinzmetal angina); stenosis is usually used when narrowing is caused by lesion that reduces the space of lumen (e.g. atherosclerosis). The term coarctation is another synonym, but is commonly used only in the context of aortic coarctation.

Restenosis is the recurrence of stenosis after a procedure.

Examples

Examples of vascular stenotic lesions include:

Intermittent claudication (peripheral artery stenosis)
Angina (coronary artery stenosis)
Carotid artery stenosis which predispose to (strokes and transient ischemic episodes)
Renal artery stenosis

Types

Vascular Stenosis

Arterial stenosis

Carotid artery stenosis
Coronary artery stenosis
Renal artery stenosis
Peripheral artery stenosis
Vertebral artery stenosis
Cerebral artery stenosis
Pulmonary artery stenosis
- Congenital or acquired abnormal narrowing of pulmonary arteries along any portion of the pulmonary artery tree

Venous stenosis

Jugular venous stenosis
Central venous stenosis

Cardiac Valve Stenosis

In order from most to least common:

Aortic valve stenosis
- Normal aortic valves are estimated to be less than a millimeter thick. Subsequent fibrosis and calcification of the valve leads to narrowing of the valve and therefore decreased blood flow out of the heart.
Mitral valve stenosis
- thickening of the mitral valve (of the left heart), therefore causing narrowing
Tricuspid valve stenosis
- thickening of the tricuspid valve (of the right heart), therefore causing narrowing
Pulmonary valve stenosis
- thickening of the pulmonary valve, therefore causing narrowing

Neurologic/Spine Stenosis

Spinal canal stenosis
- Cervical stenosis
- Thoracic stenosis
- Lumbar stenosis
Foraminal stenosis
Aqueductal stenosis

Gastrointestinal Stenosis

Esophageal stenosis
- A congenital or acquired fixed narrowing of the esophagus.
  - Congenital subtypes
    - Tracheobronchial remnants
    - Fibromuscular thickening / fibromuscular stenosis
    - Membranous webbing or esophageal membrane
  - Acquired
    - Injury (example: swallowing button battery )
    - Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
    - Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE)
    - Achalasia
Pyloric stenosis (infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis)
- Relatively uncommon disorder of infants, usually between the ages of 2-12 weeks, caused by abnormal thickening of the pylorus muscle in the stomach at the junction between the end of the stomach and the beginning of the duodenum.
Small-bowel stenosis
Colonic stenosis (bowel obstruction)
Anal stricture
Rectal stricture

Respiratory Stenosis

Subglottic stenosis
- Congenital or acquired narrowing of airway diameter in anatomic area below the vocal cords.
Laryngotracheal stenosis
Bronchial stenosis

Genitourinary Stenosis

Ureteral stenosis
Urethral stenosis
Cervical canal stenosis
Meatal stenosis
Vaginal stenosis
- Abnormal shortening or tightening of the vaginal canal.

Others

Biliary duct stenosis

Causes

Diagnosis

Stenoses of the vascular type are often associated with unusual blood sounds resulting from turbulent flow over the narrowed blood vessel. This sound can be made audible by a stethoscope, but diagnosis is generally made or confirmed with some form of medical imaging (such as ultrasound).