Thermography in diagnosing deep venous thrombosis of the lower limb

Phlebography and thermography of the lower limbs were performed on 58 patients suspected on the basis of clinical examination to have deep venous thrombosis of the lower limb. Both thermography and phlebography were consistently positive in 34 and negative in 17 cases. The skin temperature was lowered in four cases evidently because of an arterial spasm caused by deep venous thrombosis. No significant temperature elevation was established in three anamnestically and phlebographically older cases.