[The use of selected methods in assessing peripheral circulation of blood]

Skin blood circulation plays important thermoregulative and nutritive roles. The relative distribution between these two kinds of skin blood circulation is different at various surface areas of the skin. Some methods of skin blood flow measurements facilitating the assessment of the efficiency of the thermoregulative skin functions are presented. Plethysmography, capillaroscopy, xenon 133 clearance, laser-Doppler method and thermal methods with infrared thermography are described. A number of thermal tests used by different authors to assess peripheral blood circulation disorders of various aetiology is discussed. The lack of a standard test for peripheral blood circulation assessment renders impossible the comparison of the results obtained by different laboratories. However, an attempt has already been made at the international level to develop a standardised method for assessing vessel disorders in the vibration syndrome which would facilitate the performance of studies in this area and the comparison of their results.