Recent advances in the field of vascular surgery offer new hope to patients with organic disease or trauma of the arterial system. It has therefore become increasingly important to evaluate accurately the patients with arterial disease in order that those with lesions amenable to surgical correction may be afforded the opportunity.
The patient with early occlusive disease may complain of pain in the leg, thigh, or lower back after exercise. As the occlusion progresses, the pain may occur after minimum exercise, later occurring even at rest. Gangrene is the final stage of progression. Strict evaluation of patients with arteriosclerosis is especially necessary, for the natural course of the disease is variable, many of the factors determining the prognosis being unknown. The clinical evaluation of each peripheral pulse, the presence or absence of trophic changes in the extremity, and the symptomatology often enable one to select candidates for arteriography. Although the