The changes in an organ when an artery is suddenly blocked, leading to the formation of a dense, wedge-shaped mass of dead tissue in the part of the organ supplied by the artery. It occurs as the result of EMBOLISM or of THROMBOSIS.
n. the death of part or the whole of an organ that occurs when the artery carrying its blood supply is obstructed by a blood clot (thrombus) or an *embolus. For example, *myocardial infarction, affecting the muscle of the heart, follows coronary thrombosis. A small localized area of dead tissue produced as a result of an inadequate blood supply is known as an infarct. Infarcts also arise when venous outflow from an organ or tissue is obstructed, as occurs when the ovary or testis twist on their vascular pedicles (stalks), or when the sigmoid colon twists in *volvulus.
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