Infraction and infarction are two words that are very close in spelling and pronunciation, but have different meanings. We will examine the definitions of infraction and infarction, where they came from and some examples of their use in sentences.
An infraction is a violation of the rules or the law, an infringement upon the rules or the law. Infraction is a noun. The verb form is infract, though it is rarely used. Related words are infracts, infracted, infracting. The word infraction is derived from the Latin word infractionem, which means a breaking or a weakening.
An infarction is a blockage of the blood supply to an organ in a body, perhaps because of a thrombus or blood clot that has formed in a vein, or an embolus which is any foreign matter that is too large to pass through a vein, like a portion of a blood clot, fat, air, or a tumor. An infarction causes tissue to die due to lack of oxygen. The most commonly discussed type of infarction is a myocardial infarction, or a heart attack. When either of the coronary arteries becomes blocked, blood flow is affected and portions of the heart muscle may be deprived of oxygen, which is called cardiac ischemia. Surgery may be necessary to bypass the blockage in the vessels, known as coronary artery bypass surgery. Imaging of the cardiovascular system, perhaps through angiography, will pinpoint the occlusion where the thrombosis or embolism has occurred. The diagnosis will let the cardiac surgeon know what the coronary problem is. Symptoms of a myocardial infarction include chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness and nausea. Acute angina is often treated with nitroglycerin, though a patient in a full-blown infarction event generally is administered heparin. Complications of a myocardial infarction include arrhythmia, stroke, and heart failure. The word infarction is derived from the Latin word infarcire, which means to stuff in. Infarction is a noun. Infarct is another noun which means the dead tissue resulting from an infarction.
Examples
Just before 9 p.m. Wednesday, police officers stopped a vehicle for a traffic infraction at SW 6th and SW Lane in Topeka, according to Lt. Manuel Munoz. (The Hays Post)
Sampson has been passing out gift cards and a holiday greeting in recent weeks instead of issuing citations for minor traffic infractions thanks to Torrance resident Gabriela Fischer, who along with her son, Kevin, 12, and husband, Christian, started the Utopian Society Project three years ago. (The Daily Breeze)
State. Rep. Lee Chatfield, R-Levering, will be issued a civil infraction this week for having an unregistered gun, which was found by Transportation Security Administration officials at an airport last month. (Petoskey News-Review)
You’re most likely to have a deadly myocardial infarction on a specific day of the calendar year, and the date isn’t far away. (The Daily Express)
A higher incidence of myocardial infarction (MI) was observed during days with low air temperature, low atmospheric air pressure, high wind velocity, and shorter sunshine duration, according to an observational study published in JAMA Cardiology. (The Cardiology Advisor)
We report two cases of acute corpus callosum infarction with sudden cognitive impairment, and the related basis, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, differential diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of this disease are reviewed. (Dove Medical Press)