Atherosclerosis is a disease of the arteries in which fatty material and plaque are deposited in the wall of an artery, resulting in narrowing of the arterial lumen and eventual impairment of blood flow.
Reviewed last on: 5/2/2009
David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.