Nodular polyarteritis

Nodular polyarteritis, also known as polyarteritis, or nodular periarteritis, is a necrotizing vasculitis disease involving the middle and small arteries. Nodular polyarteritis can affect any organ of the body, but skin, joints, peripheral nerves, gastrointestinal tract, and kidney involvement are the most common. The severity of the disease varies greatly from individual to individual. Nodular polyarteritis can also be combined with other diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and Sjogren's syndrome. According to the size of the involved blood vessels, they are divided into classic nodular polyarteritis and micropolyarteritis. The former invades the middle arteries and their branches, while the latter involves arterioles and veins. It is characterized by necrotizing and non-granulomatous arteries Vasculitis, because the vascular injury does not only affect the outer layer of the arterial wall, but may affect all layers of the arterial wall at the same time, causing necrotizing arteritis, and eventually leading to multiple aneurysms, thrombosis or infarction.