quote:Originally posted by TheWatchman:
An aneuryism is a "weakened, enlarged (or ballooned) area in a blood vessel". This is what I wrote in my first explanation. Rupture, according to the Webster's Dictionary, means "to break apart or burst". Like I said, veins don't just bleed (or burst) without a stimulus. Although there is rarely a warning, that does not mean there was no stimulus. An "aneuryism" is the stimulus and the "rupture" is the result. Of course, if one is stabbed or something than that is a different stimulus. Again, an aneuryism does not just mean "ballooning", it also means "weakening" which may or may not accompany "ballooning".
Sorry to hear about your father. No matter what it is called, or how we perceive the facts, the end result is the same. My Grandfather had one in his stomach and my stepmother had one in the brain. We are all looking through the same forest but the trees keep getting in the way. 
hfan said in his first post that there was nothing else new in the article. Obviously there was more, but most likely the same updates that we have been getting. Interesting for sure.
[This message has been edited by TheWatchman (edited October 26, 2002).]
An artery can tear just like any other type of tissue. Actually what happens is, as you get older, your blood vessels loose some of their elasticity. And if you're a smoker, it's even worse, because your blood vessels actually become brittle. Sections weaken and the tissue eventually "breaks". It doesn't always balloon and burst. It can rupture without doing that.
Cathy