Microangiopathy

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Microangiopathy is a disease process affecting small blood vessels.

[edit] Diabetic nephropathy

In diabetic nephropathy, glycosylated protein deposits appear diffusely on the basement membranes of capillary loops of the glomeruli, causing microangiopathy of tubules and arterioles. Sometimes, PAS-positive nodular deposits (containing mucopolysaccharides, fibrils and collagen) may appear in the mesangial space, at the periphery of the glomerulus, pushing the capillaries. The lesion is focal (glomeruli are not entirely affected), and some of them are spared. This pattern is also called Kimmelstiel-Wilson lesion.

Massive microangiopathy may cause the picture of microangiopathic hemolytic anemia (MAHA).