Artery and Vein Disease Quiz

See Section. Option D, the superficial femoral artery, best fits this combination of calf claudication and pulse findings. This artery carries blood through the thigh and continues as the popliteal artery behind the knee. A significant stenosis, or narrowing, can leave the femoral pulse at the groin palpable while reducing flow to the popliteal and foot arteries farther downstream. During walking, the calf needs more oxygen, but the narrowed vessel cannot increase supply sufficiently, producing claudication, pain caused by insufficient blood supply during exercise. The useful bedside clue is the change from a preserved proximal pulse to absent distal pulses. This makes the superficial femoral artery the best listed site, although examination suggests a region rather than proving the exact location of every lesion.

Aortoiliac disease (B) lies upstream of the groin and often reduces femoral as well as distal pulses; buttock or thigh symptoms can accompany calf pain, but disease need not be bilateral. Common iliac stenosis (E) can affect one limb, yet it also compromises inflow before the femoral pulse. Common femoral stenosis (A) involves the artery at the groin and is more likely to affect that pulse than a lesion farther down the thigh. The posterior tibial artery (C) is downstream of the popliteal artery and supplies the sole of the foot. An isolated lesion there can reduce its ankle pulse but does not explain the absent upstream popliteal pulse.