International journal of microcirculation, clinical and experimental / sponsored by the European Society for Microcirculation
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Int J Microcirc Clin Exp · Jan 1995
Review Comparative StudyAdvances in microcirculation network evaluation: an update.
Many methods are available today for clinical evaluation of the blood supply to an extremity or part of an extremity, some of which are excellent for determining the presence and severity of arterial and venous disorders. These methods, however, do not give any information on the microvascular status of the diseased areas. This is particularly true for the skin circulation, which has a rather complex vascular network with nutritional and thermoregulatory vessels, arteriovenous shunts, etc. ⋯ By using different combinations of the above mentioned microcirculatory techniques, valuable information can be gained regarding pathophysiological phenomena of the microcirculation in many diseases, e.g. vascular disorders, collagenosis. Raynaud's phenomenon, diabetes and hypertension. Using techniques for both macro- and microcirculation is also of great importance for evaluating the effect of therapeutic procedures in several of these disorders.