Angiodysplasia is an abnormality with the blood vessels in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The GI tract includes the mouth, esophagus, small and large intestines, stomach, and anus. This condition causes swollen or enlarged blood vessels, as well as the formation of bleeding lesions in the colon and stomach.AngiodysplasiaMedicallyreviewedbyAlanaBiggers,M.D.,MPH—WrittenbyValenciaHiguera—UpdatedonSeptember17,2018SymptomsCausesDiagnosisTreatmentComplicationsOutlookOverviewAngiodysplasiaisanabnormalitywiththebloodvesselsinthegastrointestinal(GI)tract.TheGItractincludesthemouth,esophagus,smallandlargeintestines,stomach,andanus.Thisconditioncausesswollenorenlargedbloodvessels,aswellastheformationofbleedinglesionsinthecolonandstomach.Thetypeofangiodysplasiaisbasedonthelocationofthebloodvesselenlargement.Yourdoctormayclassifyyourcaseaseithercolonangiodysplasia(enlargementofbloodvesselsinthecolon),orstomachangiodysplasia(enlargementofbloodvesselsinthestomach).Inaddition,thisconditioncanbebrokendownintothefollowingcategoriesbasedonlocation:colonicandgastricangiodysplasiaangiodysplasiaofstomachandtheintestinececalangiodysplasiaduodenalandsmallbowelangiodysplasiaSymptomsofangiodysplasiaAngiodysplasiacanoccurwithoutpainandgoundetected,oryoumayhavesubtlesymptoms.AnemiaisonesymptomofthisconditionbecauseitcauseslesionsandbleedingintheGItract.Anemiaiswhenyourredbloodcellcountislowerthannormal.Thiscancauseareductioninoxygenflowthroughoutyourbodyandtriggerarangeofsymptoms.Youmayexperienceanyofthefollowingwithangiodysplasia:shortnessofbreathtirednessweaknesspaleskinlightheadednessdizzinessfastheartbeatAngiodysplasiacanalsocausebleedingfromtherectum.Bloodlosscanvaryfrommildtosevere,andbloodmayappearbrightredorblackandtarry.RectalbleedingcanalsobeasignofcoloncancerandotherdisordersoftheGItract.CausesandriskfactorsofangiodysplasiaThecauseofangiodysplasiaisunknown.ButnormalspasmsoccurringintheGItractmayberesponsiblefortheenlargementofbloodvessels.Thisenlargementleadstothedevelopmentofsmal