How does angiodysplasia appear at endoscopy?
- At endoscopy angiodysplasia appears as a dense macular, reticular network of vessels (vascular tuft) which is typically 2 to 8 mm wide and is composed of intensely bright, red lesions resulting from the presence of oxygenated, “arterialized” blood within vessels directly supplied by an artery without an intervening capillary.
- Without capillaries the oxygen attached to hemoglobin is not released and the veins are not deoxygenated.
- A prominent feeding artery or draining vein is occasionally noted.
- Angiodysplasias are differentiated from mucosal erosions or hemorrhages from endoscopic trauma because angiodysplasias, unlike traumatic lesions, have a fine internal vascular structure often resembling a starburst, stellate, or arachnoid network.
