atheroma

American  

[ath-uh-roh-muh] / ˌæθ əˈroʊ mə /

noun

Pathology.

plural

atheromas, atheromata

1. a sebaceous cyst.

2. a mass of yellowish fatty and cellular material that forms in and beneath the inner lining of the arterial walls.

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atheroma British  

/ ˌæθəˈrəʊmə, -ˈrəʊ-, ˌæθəˈrɒmətəs /

noun

1. pathol a fatty deposit on or within the inner lining of an artery, often causing an obstruction to the blood flow

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Other Word Forms

• atheromatous adjective

Etymology

Origin of atheroma

1700–10; < New Latin, Latin: a tumor filled with gruellike matter < Greek athḗrōma, equivalent to athḗr ( ē ) gruel + -ōma -oma

Example Sentences

He did not know it but the arteries leading to his legs were clogged with a fatty cholesterol-like substance�what physicians call an atheroma.

From Time Magazine Archive

To this stage in the process the term atheroma is applied.

From Manual of Surgery Volume First: General Surgery. Sixth Edition. by Thomson, Alexis

Sacculated Aneurysm.—When a limited area of the vessel wall is weakened—for example by atheroma or by other form of arteritis—this portion yields before the pressure of the blood, and a sacculated aneurysm results.

From Manual of Surgery Volume First: General Surgery. Sixth Edition. by Thomson, Alexis

There were a few flecks of atheroma in the aorta.

From The Journal of Abnormal Psychology, Volume 10 by Various

Arterial diseases of various kinds, atheroma, aneurysm, etc., caused 15,685 deaths in 1915, or 23.3 per 100,000.

From Arteriosclerosis and Hypertension: with Chapters on Blood Pressure, 3rd Edition. by Warfield, Louis Marshall