Hyaline arteriolosclerosis, also arterial hyalinosis and arteriolar hyalinosis, refers to thickening of the walls of arterioles by the deposition of homogeneous pink hyaline

Hyaline

The term hyaline denotes a substance with a glass-like appearance.-Histopathology:In histopathological medical usage, a hyaline substance appears glassy and pink after being stained with haematoxylin and eosin — usually it is an acellular, proteinaceous material...

 material. It is a type of arteriolosclerosis

Arteriolosclerosis

Arteriolosclerosis is a form of cardiovascular disease affecting the small arteries and arterioles.Types include hyaline arteriolosclerosis and hyperplastic arteriolosclerosis, both associated with vessel wall thickening and luminal narrowing that may cause downstream ischemic injury...

 which refers to hardening of arteriolar

Arteriole

An arteriole is a small diameter blood vessel in the microcirculation that extends and branches out from an artery and leads to capillaries.Arterioles have muscular walls and are the primary site of vascular resistance...

 wall.

Associations

It is associated with aging, hypertension

Hypertension

Hypertension or high blood pressure is a cardiac chronic medical condition in which the systemic arterial blood pressure is elevated. What that means is that the heart is having to work harder than it should to pump the blood around the body. Blood pressure involves two measurements, systolic and...

, diabetes mellitus

Diabetes mellitus

Diabetes mellitus, often simply referred to as diabetes, is a group of metabolic diseases in which a person has high blood sugar, either because the body does not produce enough insulin, or because cells do not respond to the insulin that is produced...

 and may be seen in response to certain drugs (calcineurin inhibitors).

It is often seen in the context of kidney pathology. In hypertension only the afferent arteriole is affected, while in diabetes mellitus, both the afferent and efferent arteriole

Efferent arteriole

The efferent arterioles are blood vessels that are part of the urinary tract of organisms. The efferent arterioles form from a convergence of the capillaries of the glomerulus...

 are affected,

Etiology

Lesions reflect leakage of plasma

Blood plasma

Blood plasma is the straw-colored liquid component of blood in which the blood cells in whole blood are normally suspended. It makes up about 55% of the total blood volume. It is the intravascular fluid part of extracellular fluid...

 components across vascular

Vascular

Vascular in zoology and medicine means "related to blood vessels", which are part of the circulatory system. An organ or tissue that is vascularized is heavily endowed with blood vessels and thus richly supplied with blood....

 endothelium

Endothelium

The endothelium is the thin layer of cells that lines the interior surface of blood vessels, forming an interface between circulating blood in the lumen and the rest of the vessel wall. These cells are called endothelial cells. Endothelial cells line the entire circulatory system, from the heart...

 and excessive extracellular matrix

Extracellular matrix

In biology, the extracellular matrix is the extracellular part of animal tissue that usually provides structural support to the animal cells in addition to performing various other important functions. The extracellular matrix is the defining feature of connective tissue in animals.Extracellular...

 production by smooth muscle cells, usually secondary to hypertension.

Hyaline arteriolosclerosis is a major morphologic characteristic of benign nephrosclerosis

Benign nephrosclerosis

Benign nephrosclerosis is a term used to describe the renal changes occurring in the setting of benign hypertension, which is always associated with hyaline arteriolosclerosis.-Morphology:...

, in which the arteriolar narrowing causes diffuse impairment of renal blood supply, with loss of nephrons. The narrowing of the lumen can decrease renal blood flow and hence glomerular filtration rate leading to increased renin

Renin

Renin , also known as an angiotensinogenase, is an enzyme that participates in the body's renin-angiotensin system -- also known as the Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone Axis -- that mediates extracellular volume , and arterial vasoconstriction...

secretion and a perpetuating cycle with increasing blood pressure and decreasing kidney function.