[Extra-aortic aneurysms. Analysis of 163 aneurysms in 142 patients]

163 extraaortic arterial aneurysms in 142 patients from autopsy and biopsy material were analyzed. The mean age of the autopsy cases was 71.3 years and of the biopsy cases 52.1 years. The mean age of all the cases was 61.3 years for men and 53.2 years for women. A predominance of the male sex was evident, with an overall ratio of 4:1. The majority of aneurysms were localized in the main arteries of the lower extremities below the aortic bifurcation. Among the etiologic factors, arteriosclerosis was by far the most important, whereas inflammatory disorders and degenerative lesions of the media (medionecrosis of Erdheim and Gsell, mucoid degeneration of media) were less frequently the reason for aneurysm formation. In contrast to the aorta, inflammatory alterations of the arteries which were responsible for aneurysm formation were usually caused by bacterial infections (mycotic aneurysms). In spite of the increasing nicotine consumption of the female population, an increase in female patients with arteriosclerotic aneurysms was not detected.