A stone or calcified deposit that forms inside a small artery (arteriole).
Compound from 'arteriole' + Greek 'lithos' (stone). The term combines the anatomical term for small arteries with the medical suffix indicating a stone-like deposit, used in medical literature since the 1800s.
While kidney stones are famous, arteriolites are extremely rare and dangerous because they can completely block blood flow to vital tissues, causing tissue death—which is why calcification in blood vessels is something doctors work hard to prevent.
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