[Buerger's thromboangiitis obliterans. Pathologico-anatomical analysis of 53 cases]

Fifty-three clinically and morphologically verified cases of thromboangiitis obliterans have been analyzed. The histological characteristics of the disease are described. Male patients predominate in a ratio of 3.4:1. The mean age at the moment of biopsy/amputation was 40.7 years for the male and 44 years for the female patients. The lower extremity was affected in 45 cases (34 male, 11 female) with preference for the lower leg arteries with or without inclusion of the popliteal artery. Only 8 cases (7 male, 1 female) were localized in the upper extremity with preference for the arteries of fingers and hand. The number of female patients with Buerger's disease has gradually increased during recent decades, probably due to increasing nicotine consumption among the female population. Thromboangiitis obliterans is a clinico-pathological entity clearly distinct from juvenile arteriosclerosis.