Inflammatory aneurysm of the aorta, aortitis, and coronary arteritis

Inflammatory aneurysm of the aorta is not merely a variant of atherosclerosis, but more probably it is a manifestation of a peculiar systemic disease related to idiopathic retroperitoneal and mediastinal fibrosis. Rarely, aortitis and coronary arteritis may coexist with the inflammatory aneurysm; one of each of such unusual cases are described. Because inflammatory aneurysms of the aorta tend to occur in elderly persons, aortitis and coronary arteritis, when present, cannot be distinguished from the concomitant age-related atherosclerosis without a careful histologic examination.