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Telangiectasia

Etymology:

Gr. télos: “end” + Gr. angeîon: “vessel" + Gr. éktasis: “stretching out, extension”, referring to the "stretching out" or dilatation of capillaries

Definition:

A condition characterized by dilatation (i.e. stretching out) of the capillaries (i.e. "end vessels", meaning at the end of the artery creating the threshold before the beginning of the vein) causing them to appear as small red or purple clusters, often spidery in appearance, on the skin or the surface of an organ.

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