INFARCTION

death of a section of tissue when blood supply to the section fails as the result of obstruction of a blood vessel. The obstruction may be due to a blood clot or may result from narrowing of the blood vessel channel. The dead tissue is called an infarct or an infarction. Myocardial infarction (q.v.), death of a section of heart muscle, results from obstruction of a coronary artery; the condition often accompanies coronary thrombosis. Other serious infarctions occur in the lungspulmonary infarctionand the brain (see stroke). Poor circulation in the mother during pregnancy can result in placental infarction (q.v.); usually the baby is not harmed.