infarct

/in'fɑ:kt/

Thân thiện

A doctor points to an area of infarct on a patient's heart scan.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • An area of dead tissue in an organ: An infarct is a localized area of tissue death (necrosis) caused by a blockage in the blood supply to that area. This blockage is typically due to a blood clot or a severely narrowed artery.

Usage

The word "infarct" is a medical term. It is most commonly used to describe the result of an event that cuts off blood flow, such as a heart attack (myocardial infarction) or stroke (cerebral infarction). It is a countable noun.

Examples

• Noun:
  • The autopsy revealed a small infarct in the patient's kidney.
  • A myocardial infarct occurs when blood flow to a part of the heart is blocked.
  • The CT scan showed evidence of an old cerebral infarct.

Advanced Usage

• "to infarct" (verb, rare/technical): The process of causing or undergoing infarction.
  • The blocked artery caused the tissue to infarct.

Variants and Related Words

• Infarction (n): The process or event that leads to the formation of an infarct. This is the more common term for the medical event itself.
  • He was hospitalized after suffering a myocardial infarction.
• Infarcted (adj): Describing tissue that has undergone infarction.
  • The surgeon removed the infarcted segment of the bowel.

Synonyms

• Necrosis: The death of cells or tissue. (Note: "Infarct" is a specific type of necrosis caused by ischemia/lack of blood flow.)
• Ischemic necrosis: A more descriptive synonym specifying the cause (ischemia).

Related Phrases

• Myocardial infarct/infarction: The medical term for a heart attack.
• Cerebral infarct/infarction: The medical term for an ischemic stroke (a stroke caused by a blockage).
• Silent infarct: An infarct that occurs without obvious clinical symptoms.

Học thuật

Noun

1. localized necrosis resulting from obstruction of the blood supply

Từ đồng nghĩa

• infarction