Les Anevrysme s Vasculaires Che z I'Africa in: Etud e ties Documents Anatomique s

Abstract

Twenty-eight cases of vascular aneurysms were observed out of a total of 5168 autopsies performed at the La Dantec Hospital in Dakar during the period 1955-69. This gives a ratio frequency of 0-67% of all autopsies. There were twenty-three males and five females and the majority of patients were between 30 and 50 years old. The youngest and oldest patients were 11 and 70 years respectively. Most of the aneurysms were unusually large and sometime s pro - truded. The aorta was the most common site. Twenty-five cases affected the aort a with a segmental distribution of seventeen in the arch, six in the abdominal portion and two in the thoracoabdominal portion . One aneurysm was also o b -served in the following sites: subclavian artery, right middle cerebral artery and both internal carotid arteries. Twenty-three aneurysms (81-19%) were considered t o be syphilitic, one case was secondary to atherosclerosis and four cases were idiopathic , Syphilis was therefore the most common cause of aneurysms in the series. Complications frequently encounted included haemorrhage into a neighbouring organ , pleural effusion (serous or haemorrhagic), pulmonary atelectasis, pneumonia , pericardial effusion with or without pericarditis, bony lesions, renal infarcts and renal arterial emboli and cardiac failure.