Wegener's granulomatosis

An uncommon type of inflammation of small arteries and veins (vasculitis) that classically involves the vessels supplying the tissues of the lungs, nasal passages (sinuses), and kidneys. Wegener's granulomatosis usually affects young or middle-aged adults. Symptoms include fatigue, weight loss, fever, shortness of breath, bloody sputum, joint pains, and sinus inflammation, sometimes with nasal ulcerations and bloody nasal discharge. The diagnosis of Wegener's granulomatosis is confirmed by finding evidence of vasculitis and abnormal cellular formations called granulomas on biopsy of tissue involved by the inflammatory process. Wegener's granulomatosis is a serious disease. Without treatment, it can be fatal within months. Treatment is directed toward stopping

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Weg·e·ner's granulomatosis 'veg-ə-nərz- n an uncommon disease of unknown cause that is characterized esp. by vasculitis of small vessels, by granuloma formation in the respiratory tract, and by glomerulonephritis

Wegener Friedrich (1907-1990)

German pathologist. Wegener first described Wegener's granulomatosis in 1936, issuing another report in 1939. The disease was actually first described by German pathologist Heinz Karl Ernst Klinger in 1931.

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an autoimmune disease predominantly affecting the nasal passages, lungs, and kidneys, characterized by granuloma formation in addition to arteritis. Untreated the disease is usually fatal, but it can be controlled (sometimes for years) with steroids, cyclophosphamide, and azathioprine.

F. Wegener (1907-90), German pathologist