[Pathophysiological prerequisites in the diagnosis and treatment of arterial occlusive diseases (author's transl)].

The pathophysiological consequences of an arterial occlusive disease are mainly governed by a) the location, degree, and temporal course of the vascular obstruction, b) the installation of a sufficient arterio-arterial bypass of the site of obstruction, and c) the behaviour of the postocclusive arterial vascular region. The acute total blockage of a larger artery usually can be diagnosed without major difficulties (the problems of comparative indirect blood pressure measurements for the localization of the occlusion are discussed). A partial obstruction, on the contrast, may be secret in the beginning. A stenosis of longer duration can be followed by the poststenotic bulging of the vessel wall; in this area platelet microemboli can take their origin. Compared with a limitation of O2-supply by the occlusion of a larger vessel the direct obstruction of the microvasculature will result in a more severe disturbance of organ function.