Precapillary vessels and peripheral vascular ischemic disease

The vast majority of patients with peripheral arterial insufficiency have degenerative lesions in large arteries; however, collateral circulation develops in smaller arteries and arterioles. Vascular disorders affecting arterioles are idiopathic Raynaud's disease and systemic sclerosis. The pathogenesis of Raynaud's phenomenon is still poorly understood. There is some evidence that systemic sclerosis is a primary disorder of small arterioles.