Patterns of Arteriosclerotic Lesions of the Lower Extremity

THE PREVAILING METHODS designed to evaluate atherosclerotic lesions of the lower extremity are generally limited in scope since they are usually confined to the study of the femoral-popliteal segment. Such an investigative approach has often yielded inadequate information. A comprehensive assessment of the arterial lesions of the lower extremity, as that of any other well defined anatomic entity, should include the entire arterial tree, from its origin to its final ramifications. In accord with this concept, the arterial topography of the lower extremity is defined in this investigation as that extending from the origin of the common iliac and the adjacent aortic bifurcation down to the distribution of the pedal arterial tree. Consequently the cases in this study were selected on the basis of these anatomical criteria so as to obtain complete information not only of the conventional femoral-popliteal segment but also of the entire proximal and distal arterial tree.