Intimal hyperplasia and thrombosis of the visceral arteries in a young woman: possible relation with oral contraceptives and smoking.

This is a report of a 26-year-old woman who died of a massive intestinal infarction caused by occlusion of the celiac axis and the superior and inferior mesenteric arteries. Autopsy showed intimal hyperplasia and an overlying thrombus that obstructed the lumen of the vessel. As shown by Irey et al., exogenous or endogenous female reproductive steroids can act on the vascular system as a target organ and induce intimal hyperplasia and thrombus …