Figure 3b.

Blunt arterial injury pathophysiology. Blue arrows = injury progression. (a) Illustration depicts an intimal injury with dissection. An intimal tear may dissect, progress cranially, and cause luminal narrowing or occlusion. Thrombus may form in the false lumen and at the site of injury, leading to embolization and downstream occlusion. Black arrows = direction of blood flow. (b) Illustration depicts an intramural hematoma, an adventitiomedial injury, in which the intima may remain intact. An intramural hematoma forms within the vessel wall due to bleeding from the vasa vasorum. Blood can then dissect through the media and/or adventitia, causing luminal stenosis and/or occlusion.