What is vasculitis?

What is vasculitis?

Vasculitis is the inflammation (swelling) of the blood vessels, the network of hollow tubes that carry blood throughout the body. Vasculitis can affect very small blood vessels (capillaries), medium-size blood vessels (arterioles and venules) or large blood vessels (arteries and veins). If blood flow in a vessel with vasculitis is reduced or stopped, the parts of the body that receive blood from that vessel begin to die.