Diagnosis of superficial temporal arteritis

Giant cell arteritis is an insidious disease which is often first suspected and diagnosed by the ophthalmologist. Because of the high incidence of serious ophthalmologic complications associated with the disease, the ophthalmologist has more than passing interest in establishing the diagnosis. Biopsy confirmation has become increasingly important as more clinical syndromes associated with giant cell arteritis are recognized. The purpose of this paper is to describe a technique for biopsy of the superficial temporal artery which insures obtaining an adequate specimen for histologic examination.