label: Medial degeneration
label_lc: medial degeneration
description: "Medial degeneration of the aorta is to be used as an overarching term for any aortic surgical specimens that demonstrate one or more of the specific histopathologies mucoid extracellular matrix accumulation, elastic fiber fragmentation and/or loss, elastic fiber thinning, elastic fiber disorganization, smooth muscle cell nuclei loss, laminar medial collapse, smooth muscle cell disorganization, medial fibrosis. Grading of medial degeneration is based on the average overall severity of specific histopathologies as described, considering the worst area(s) sampled from multiple slides and aorta sections."