epistaxis

(ĕp'ĭ-stăk'sĭs)
n., pl., -stax·es (-stăk'sēz').
A nosebleed.

[Greek, from epistazein, epistag-, to bleed from the nose : epi-, epi- + stazein, to drip.]

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(ĕp'ĭ-stăk'sĭs)
n., pl. -stax·es (-stăk'sēz').

A nosebleed.

Bleeding from the nose. This is usually from damaged vessels in the nasal mucosa but can also be due to an increased fragility of capillaries or bleeding tendencies, particularly thrombocytopenia. Injury may be due to erosion or ulceration of the mucosa by a systemic disease, e.g. glanders in the horse, or by a local disease of the mucosa, e.g. allergic rhinitis, trauma to the face or to the head generally, in which case the bleeding is likely to be due to a serious lesion, or to foreign bodies up the nose, a common cause.
Bleeding from the nose originating from sites other than the nasal mucosa is a common and serious occurrence in all species but particularly in the horse because of its implication for safety while racing. The passage of large amounts of blood suddenly is usually associated with pulmonary hemorrhage and is often fatal in horses and cattle. In horses this usually occurs during hard exercise. When the bleeding in the horse occurs at rest the origin is commonly from the guttural pouch and due to mycotic erosion of the blood vessels there. See also guttural pouch mycosis, pulmonary hemorrhage, caudal vena caval thrombosis, cranial vena caval thrombosis.

Epistaxis in a horse. By permission from Knottenbelt DC, Pascoe RR, Diseases and Disorders of the Horse, Saunders, 2003

(ep′is-tak′sis)
n

(nosebleed) bleeding from the nose.

For a list of words related to epistaxis, see:

• Signs and Symptoms - epistaxis: attack of bleeding from the nose

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