Laser Doppler imaging of reactive hyperemia exposes blood flow deficits in a rat model of experimental limb ischemia.

The primary pathophysiology of peripheral artery occlusive disease is associated with impaired perfusion to the lower extremities. The lack of effective pharmacologic agents to treat this disease emphasizes the need for well-characterized animal models that can be used to evaluate the efficacy of emerging therapies. A major limitation with the current animal models of peripheral artery occlusive disease is that the variety of surgical methods employed to reduce peripheral blood flow produce differences in the severity and time course of the resting and reserve blood flow deficits.