Coronary Thrombosis

When a plaque ruptures from the arterial wall, it leads to a rapid inflammatory and thrombotic reaction that activates the clotting system and can cause the obstruction of the coronary arteries. In this slide, observe the thrombus in the coronary artery. The wall of the artery contains a large amount of plaque, which itself compresses the tunica media, often the largest layer of the wall.