Intermittent Venous Hyperemia

In analyzing the mechanism by which alternating suction and pressure1exert their effects on the course of obliterative arterial disease, we found that in four types of apparatus examined there occurred an intermittent venous stasis in the limb under treatment. The cuff attached to the thigh constricts the limb during the phase of suction and releases it during the phase of positive pressure. The phenomena of reddening of the toes and filling of the veins, the rise of surface temperature and the increased mobility of the toes, all of which can be observed as objective changes produced by passive vascular exercise,1can be reproduced by intermittent venous compression. It is our purpose in this communication to examine this factor, study its physiologic aspects and report on its clinical use. THE EFFECTS OF VENOUS CONSTRICTION In the beginning of this century, surgical thought was greatly influenced by the writings