Vegetation (pathology) explained

In medicine, a vegetation is an abnormal growth named for its similarity to natural vegetation. Vegetations are often associated with endocarditis.^{[1] [2] [3]} They can be made of fibrin^[4] and platelets.^[5]

Types

Certain conditions are associated with specific vegetation patterns:

Condition	Size	Infective?
Infective endocarditis related to Staphylococcus aureus	Generally large	Yes
Rheumatic fever related to Streptococcus pyogenes	Typically small
Libman–Sacks endocarditis related to systemic lupus erythematosus	Small	No (sterile)
Nonbacterial thrombotic endocarditis (NBTE)	Small	No (sterile)

Notes and References

1. Miyata E, Satoh S, Inokuchi K, etal . Three fatal cases of rapidly progressive infective endocarditis caused by Staphylococcus aureus: one case with huge vegetation . Circ. J. . 71 . 9 . 1488–91 . September 2007 . 17721034 . 10.1253/circj.71.1488. free .
2. Gotsman I, Meirovitz A, Meizlish N, Gotsman M, Lotan C, Gilon D . Clinical and echocardiographic predictors of morbidity and mortality in infective endocarditis: the significance of vegetation size . Isr. Med. Assoc. J. . 9 . 5 . 365–9 . May 2007 . 17591374 .
3. Web site: eMedicine/Stedman Medical Dictionary Lookup!. https://web.archive.org/web/20080216000915/http://www.emedicine.com/asp/dictionary.asp?exact=Y. 2008-02-16. dead.
4. Web site: Pathology Education: Cardiovascular .
5. Web site: eMedicine/Stedman Medical Dictionary Lookup!. https://web.archive.org/web/20080216000915/http://www.emedicine.com/asp/dictionary.asp?exact=Y. 2008-02-16. dead.