intima the innermost lining of the vessel wall that is in contact with flowing blood.
ischemia temporary lack of blood and oxygen to an area of cells, for example, the heart muscle, usually due to severe obstruc¬tion of the artery supplying blood to this area of cells.
leukocytes white blood cells.
monocytes scavenger white blood cells.
myocardial infarction death of an area of heart muscle due to blockage of a coronary artery by blood clot and atheroma; medical term for a heart attack or coronary thrombosis.
pathogenesis the development of morbid conditions or of disease, particularly the cellular events and reactions and other pathologic mechanisms occurring in the development of disease.
platelets very small disk like particles that circulate in the blood alongside with red blood cells initiating formation of blood clots; platelets clump and form little plugs called platelet aggregation,, thus causing bleeding to stop.
thrombogenic causes clotting of the blood.

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• I. INTRODUCTION AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
  A. Incidence
• II. PATHOLOGY A. Definition of Atheroma and Atherosclerosis
  The word atheroma is derived from the Greek ‘‘athere’’ meaning porridge or gruel. When a plaque of atheroma is cut open one sees a gelatinous, porridge-like material which contains globules of cholesterol fat, neutral fat, saturated sterols, protein granules, crystals of cholesterol, fatty acids, calcium, and other cells. The amount of calcium in the lesion (calcification) is extremely variable. Fortunately, the porridge-like material does not touch the blood that flows through the artery, because nature covers the fatty material with a protective hard layer of cells called fibrous tissue. The atheromatous material forms a plaque, an opaque yellowish-white patch of thickening, that juts into the lumen of the artery. An atheromatous plaque therefore consists of a central fatty core that has a variable amount of lipids and calcium covered by a fibrous cap. Because the cap is hard and the medical word for hardness is ‘‘sclerosis,’’ the disease is commonly called atherosclerosis. The fibrous cap, however, may be quite thin and fragile and prone to fracture and rupture or show erosion in some individuals. The exposed material is highly thrombogenic. Figure 2 gives a simplified representation of an atheromatous plaque and the subsequent rupture and blood clot that completely obstructs the artery.
• III. PATHOGENESIS
  The precise cause and pathogenesis of atheroma formation remains unknown.
• IV. VULNERABLE ATHEROMATOUS PLAQUES
  A. Rupture of the Plaque
• V. CLINICAL STUDIES
  A. Maehara et al.
• BIBLIOGRAPHY
  Agmon, Y., Khandheria, B. K., Meissner, I. et al. The association between