24.4 VASCULITIS SYNDROMES

Vasculitis syndromes include a spectrum of systemic disorders with common pathology-idiopathic or immune- complex mediated damage to vascular endothelium. Depend­ing on the size of predominantly involved vessels, these syndromes may be broadly classified as:

• Large vessel vasculitides, e.g. Takayasu disease,

• Medium vessel vasculitides, e.g. Kawasaki disease or polyarteritis nodosa, and

• Small vessel vasculitides, e.g. Henoch-Schonlein purpura, Wegener's granulomatosis, etc.

24.4.1