Patient's question:
About 10 years ago, I had a magnetic resonance angiography and found a very small venous vascular malformation in the forehead, which was likely congenital. Later, I went to the hospital and asked if it might fibrotize in a couple of years, but I didn't pay much attention to it. After that, there were no symptoms, no headaches, just occasional dizziness, and no epilepsy symptoms. I wonder if it's nothing serious?What is a vascular malformation?
Doctor's answer:
The ductus arteriosus is originally a normal blood passage between the pulmonary artery and the aorta during fetal development. Since the lungs are not capable of respiration at this time, pulmonary blood from the right ventricle flows through the ductus into the descending aorta, while blood from the left ventricle enters the ascending aorta. Therefore, the ductus is essential for the special circulatory pattern during fetal development. After birth, the lungs expand and independently take over gas exchange, with the pulmonary circulation and systemic circulation each performing their respective functions. The ductus soon closes due to disuse. If it remains open, it forms a pathological condition known as patent ductus arteriosus (PDA).