Histopathological changes in skeletal muscles in case of chronic limb ishemia

The aim of the research was to identify structural changes in the muscle tissue of various segments of the lower limbs in patients with critical ischemia in case of peripheral arterial disease. Muscle tissue of three segments - the foot, the leg and the thigh, derived from amputated due to disease progression limbs (N = 9) was examined. Histological, immunohistochemical and morphometric methods were used. It was shown that from foot to thigh the amount of connective tissuedecreases, the average diameter of muscle fibersand the number of blood vesselsincrease. Also, the increased number of cells, producing vascular endothelialgrowth factor and statistically equal amount of cells with the receptor to this factor, was found.