D Andrea s disease (angiomegaly): a currently well-defined nosological entity

In 1997 D Andrea et al. described a new nosological entity the characteristics of which consisted of lengthening, dilation and tortuosity of blood vessels, arteries or veins, less prominent, but also less circumscribed than an aneurysm. This condition does not necessarily imply specific aneurysm formation although aneurysms at multiple sites are a frequent observation. The term used by authors for angiomegaly of the venous system was venomegaly and the analogous condition of the arterial system was termed arteriomegaly. Although tortuosity and dilation of arteries and veins have been widely reported, suggesting a systemic disorder which affects the structural integrity of all vessels, most papers dealing with this intriguing condition did not describe any alterations in the components of vessel walls. In the present paper, the authors describe a well-defined condition, D Andrea s Disease (or DD, in this article), analyzing its salient morphological and clinical features and clarifying this pathological condition as a distinct and now well-defined nosological entity.