Sympathetic denervation in the treatment of acute arterial occlusion.

The effect of sympathectomy on the size of the collateral vessels in acute arterial ligation in a hind limb was measured by an angiographic angiometric technic and by noting the pressure in the ligated artery distal to the ligature. The size of the largest collateral vessel present on the sympa-thectomized side was the same as that on the innervated side. The blood pressure in the ligated artery distal to the ligature was quite similar on the sympathectomized and innervated sides. The usual increase in temperature on the sympathectomized side was noted. This must be due to a shift of blood from the deeper tissues of the hind limb to the arteriovenous shunts of the skin of the toes, rather than to an increase in collateral blood flow.