How do I add a treatment overlay?

Annotate sites of drug action with small drug icons (statin -> LDL, anti-inflammatory -> cytokines, antiplatelet -> rupture site). Use a different color for therapeutic targets.

PromptsLife Science

Life ScienceText → ImageMid creditEN

Atherosclerosis Inflammation Mechanism

Endothelial dysfunction, LDL retention, monocyte recruitment, foam cells and plaque formation.

When to use this prompt

For cardiology / vascular biology review figures and clinical-research presentations.

The prompt

A cross-sectional artery diagram showing the inflammatory mechanism of atherosclerosis.

Layout: a side-view of an artery wall drawn with three layers (intima, media, adventitia) labeled on the right.

Sequential events labeled 1-5 across the figure (left to right):

1. Endothelial dysfunction — risk factors (hypertension, smoking, hyperglycemia) damage the endothelial monolayer; small arrows from external icons to the endothelium.

2. LDL retention & oxidation — LDL particles cross the dysfunctional endothelium into the subendothelial space; some are oxidised (oxLDL) and trapped on proteoglycans.

3. Monocyte recruitment — adhesion molecules (VCAM-1, ICAM-1) on the endothelium recruit circulating monocytes; small "rolling" arrows show monocyte movement into the intima.

4. Foam cells — monocytes differentiate into macrophages that ingest oxLDL via scavenger receptors, becoming lipid-laden foam cells; show foam cells as round cells with internal lipid droplets.

5. Plaque & inflammation — accumulating foam cells, smooth muscle cell migration, and a fibrous cap form a plaque; pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1, TNF-alpha) labeled around the lesion.

Style: biomedical illustration, restrained palette (navy, coral, gold accent for lipid), white background, suitable for cardiology / vascular biology journals.

Variations

Plaque-rupture variant

Add a Stage 6 showing fibrous cap thinning, plaque rupture, exposed thrombogenic core, and platelet aggregation forming a luminal thrombus that occludes the artery.

Tips

Number the events 1-5 prominently. Mechanism figures fail without ordering cues.
Layer the artery wall horizontally — it is the canonical anatomical orientation.
Annotate cytokines and adhesion molecules near where they act, not in a separate legend.