Edema it is the excess of liquid accumulated in the interstitial space, that is, between the tissues of the body. The accumulation of this fluid, composed of water, salts and plasma proteins, can be localized or generalized (anasarca).
The word "edema" originates in Greek oidema, which means swelling.
Edema is caused by the breakdown of mechanisms that regulate the distribution of fluid volume in space interstitial, causing the amount of liquid that leaves the capillary to be greater than that which returns to the circulation.
Some causes of edema:
- Medicines;
- Hormonal changes (menstruation);
- Changes in the vascular system (thrombosis, varicose veins, allergies, trauma);
- Heart, kidney and liver diseases;
- Hypothyroidism;
- Cancer;
- Malnutrition;
- Obesity.
Edema can affect upper and lower limbs, chest, face, genital region, lungs, liver, brain, among others.
THE nomenclature of edema follows the following parameters:
- Prefix "Hydro" + affected cavity (Hydrothorax, hydroperitoneum, hydrocephalus);
- "Eedema of" + affected organ or hydropic organ (swelling of lung or hydropic lung);
- Anasarca ("ana" = about; "sarx" = flesh), which means generalized edema;
- Ascites (from the Greek "askytes"), which means abdominal swelling.
