Angioma is a congenital hypertrophy of the vascular tissues of the corium and subcutaneous tissue. Exceptionally it makes its appearance a few weeks or a month after birth.
Into what two classes may angiomata be roughly grouped?
The flat (or non-elevated) and the prominent (or elevated).
Describe the flat, or non-elevated, variety of angioma.
The flat, or non-elevated, angioma (nævus flammeus, nævus simplex, angioma simplex, capillary nævus) may be pin-head- to bean-sized; or it may involve an area of several inches in diameter, and, exceptionally, a whole region. It is of a bright- or dark-red color, and is met with most frequently about the face. In some instances it extends after birth, reaches a certain size and then remains stationary; occasionally, when involving a small area, it undergoes involution and disappears.
The so-called port-wine mark is included in this group.
Describe the prominent, or elevated, variety of angioma.
The prominent variety (venous nœvus, angioma cavernosum, nœvus tuberosus) is variously-sized, often considerably elevated, clearly-defined, compressible, smooth or lobulated, and of a dark, purple color; it may, also, be erectile and pulsating. The growth is usually a single formation, and is met with upon all parts of the body.
What is the pathology of angioma?
It is a new growth, consisting of a variable hypertrophy of the cutaneous and subcutaneous arterial and venous bloodvessels, with or without an increase of the connective tissue.