The calibers of the common femoral, popliteal, and posterior tibialis arteries: a statistical investigation in 100 healthy subjects by color Doppler ultrasonography.

One hundred healthy subjects (50 men, 50 women; age range: 18 to 90 years) with no history of occlusive arterial disease of the lower extremities were examined. In each, the principal arteries of the lower extremities were measured by Doppler ultrasound. The difference between the dimensions of the arteries of the right with those of the left was generally not significant, although those of the right were consistently larger. The only exceptions were the common femoral arteries in both sexes and the posterior tibialis arteries in the men, where there was a statistically significant predominance of the right. As compared to those of the females, the arterial calibers of the male subjects were significantly larger (p <0.01) for all the arteries examined. In both sexes, there was a statistically significant direct relationship between vessel caliber and age. There was no correlation between arterial dimension and body index.