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Caput medusae



Caput medusae
Classification & external resources
ICD-10 I86.8 (ILDS I86.820)
ICD-9 456.8

Caput medusae is the appearance of distended and engorged umbilical veins which are seen radiating from the umbilicus across the abdomen to join systemic veins. The name caput medusae (Latin for "head of Medusa") originates from the apparent similarity to Medusa's hair once Minerva had turned it into snakes.

Contents

Causes

It is a sign of severe portal hypertension that has decompressed by portal-systemic shunting through the umbilical veins.[1]

Differential diagnosis

Inferior vena cava obstruction

  • Produces abdominal collateral veins develop to bypass the blocked inferior vena cava and permit venous return from the legs.

How to differentiate

Determine the direction of flow in the veins below the umbilicus.

  • Caput Medusae - flow is towards the legs
  • Inferior vena cava obstruction - flow is towards the head.

See also

  • Portacaval anastomosis

References

  1. ^ Hepatic Pathology. Retrieved on 2007-12-09.
v • d • e
Circulatory system pathology (I, 390-459)
HypertensionHypertensive heart disease - Hypertensive nephropathy - Secondary hypertension (Renovascular hypertension)
Ischaemic heart diseaseAngina pectoris (Prinzmetal's angina) - Myocardial infarction - Dressler's syndrome
Pulmonary circulationPulmonary embolism - Cor pulmonale
PericardiumPericarditis - Pericardial effusion - Cardiac tamponade
Endocardium/heart valvesEndocarditis - mitral valves (regurgitation, prolapse, stenosis) - aortic valves (stenosis, insufficiency) - pulmonary valves (stenosis, insufficiency) - tricuspid valves (stenosis, insufficiency)
MyocardiumMyocarditis - Cardiomyopathy (Dilated cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, Loeffler endocarditis, Restrictive cardiomyopathy) - Arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia
Electrical conduction system
of the heart		Heart block: AV block (First degree, Second degree, Third degree) - Bundle branch block (Left, Right) - Bifascicular block - Trifascicular block
Pre-excitation syndrome (Wolff-Parkinson-White, Lown-Ganong-Levine) - Long QT syndrome - Adams-Stokes syndrome - Cardiac arrest - Sudden cardiac death
Arrhythmia: Paroxysmal tachycardia (Supraventricular, AV nodal reentrant, Ventricular) - Atrial flutter - Atrial fibrillation - Ventricular fibrillation - Premature contraction (Atrial, Ventricular) - Ectopic pacemaker - Sick sinus syndrome
Other heart conditionsHeart failure - Cardiovascular disease - Cardiomegaly - Ventricular hypertrophy (Left, Right)
Cerebrovascular diseasesIntracranial hemorrhage/cerebral hemorrhage: Extra-axial hemorrhage (Epidural hemorrhage, Subdural hemorrhage, Subarachnoid hemorrhage)
Intra-axial hematoma (Intraventricular hemorrhages, Intraparenchymal hemorrhage) - Anterior spinal artery syndrome - Binswanger's disease - Moyamoya disease
Arteries, arterioles
and capillaries		Atherosclerosis (Renal artery stenosis) - Aortic dissection/Aortic aneurysm (Abdominal aortic aneurysm) - Aneurysm - Raynaud's phenomenon/Raynaud's disease - Buerger's disease - Vasculitis/Arteritis (Aortitis) - Intermittent claudication - Arteriovenous fistula - Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia - Spider angioma
Veins, lymphatic vessels
and lymph nodes		Thrombosis/Phlebitis/Thrombophlebitis (Deep vein thrombosis, May-Thurner syndrome, Portal vein thrombosis, Venous thrombosis, Budd-Chiari syndrome, Renal vein thrombosis, Paget-Schroetter disease) - Varicose veins / Portacaval anastomosis (Hemorrhoid, Esophageal varices, Varicocele, Gastric varices, Caput medusae) - Superior vena cava syndrome - Lymph (Lymphadenitis, Lymphedema, Lymphangitis)
OtherHypotension (Orthostatic hypotension)
See also congenital (Q20-Q28, 745-747)
 
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Caput_medusae". A list of authors is available in Wikipedia.
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