Terminology
The terminology used to define, describe and categorize vascular anomalies, abnormal lumps made up of blood vessels, has changed. The term hemangioma was originally used to describe any vascular tumor-like structure, whether it was present at or around birth or appeared later in life. Mulliken et al. categorized these conditions into two families: a family of self-involuting tumors, growing lesions that eventually disappear, and another family of malformations, enlarged or abnormal vessels present at birth and essentially permanent. The importance of this distinction is that it makes it possible for early-in-life differentiation between lesions that will resolve versus those that are permanent. Examples of permanent malformations include port-wine stains (capillary vascular malformation) and masses of abnormal swollen veins (venous malformations).
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