Infarction

infarction, death of tissue resulting from a failure of blood supply, commonly due to obstruction of a blood vessel by a blood clot or narrowing of the blood-vessel channel. The dead tissue is called an infarct. Myocardial infarction (heart attack)—death of a section of heart muscle—results from obstruction of a coronary artery; the condition often accompanies coronary thrombosis. Infarctions may also occur in the lungs (pulmonary infarction) and the brain (see stroke).