What is the difference between red infarction and white infarction?

[tarekatpf]

What is the difference between red infarction and white infarction?

 

[SW VandeCarr]

What is the difference between red infarction and white infarction?

Red infrarcts are hemorrhagic infarcts and usually occur in less dense tissue like the lungs and GI tract. White infarcts (also called anemic infarcts) are non-hemorrhagic and are more likely in denser tissues like the myocardium (heart muscle) and other muscle tissues as well as the kidneys and spleen. However, these classifications are not mutually exclusive in terms of the organs where they occur, particularly in patients on anticoagulants. Mixed types are also seen,

 

[tarekatpf]

Red infrarcts are hemorrhagic infarcts and usually occur in less dense tissue like the lungs and GI tract. White infarcts (also called anemic infarcts) are non-hemorrhagic and are more likely in denser tissues like the myocardium (heart muscle) and other muscle tissues as well as the kidneys and spleen. However, these classifications are not mutually exclusive in terms of the organs where they occur, particularly in patients on anticoagulants. Mixed types are also seen,

Can you please explain the mechanism of development of this two kinds of infarction?

 

[SW VandeCarr]

Can you please explain the mechanism of development of this two kinds of infarction?

This is still an area of active study. It's generally thought that a white infarct is the prototypical infarction due to a blockage at some level of the arterial tree. Some of these undergo hemorrhagic transformation which make the infarct more serious. Mostly, this phenomenon has been studied in the brain. The reasons for transformation are not known but some leading hypotheses are that blood leaks into the infarct from adjacent areas. This would be most common in heavily vascularized tissue like the brain. Secondly, impaired or suppressed clotting mechanisms, including from treatment with anticoagulants or thrombolytic (clot busting) agents have been associated with red infarcts. Re-perfusion of a white infarct may cause already weakened blood vessels to break. It's important to note that anticoagulants are often used to treat strokes in progress due to blood vessel blockage. Red or hemorrhagic infarcts should not be confused with hemorrhagic strokes, where blood vessels break and bleed in the absence of an infarction.



http://radiopaedia.org/articles/haemorrhagic-transformation-of-an-ischaemic-infarct

 

[tarekatpf]

This is still an area of active study. It's generally thought that a white infarct is the prototypical infarction due to a blockage at some level of the arterial tree. Some of these undergo hemorrhagic transformation which make the infarct more serious. Mostly, this phenomenon has been studied in the brain. The reasons for transformation are not known but some leading hypotheses are that blood leaks into the infarct from adjacent areas. This would be most common in heavily vascularized tissue like the brain. Secondly, impaired or suppressed clotting mechanisms, including from treatment with anticoagulants or thrombolytic (clot busting) agents have been associated with red infarcts. Re-perfusion of a white infarct may cause already weakened blood vessels to break. It's important to note that anticoagulants are often used to treat strokes in progress due to blood vessel blockage. Red or hemorrhagic infarcts should not be confused with hemorrhagic strokes, where blood vessels break and bleed in the absence of an infarction.



http://radiopaedia.org/articles/haemorrhagic-transformation-of-an-ischaemic-infarct

Thank you very much.