Inflammatory peripheral arterial aneurysms

The in fl ammatory changes occurring in the wall of arterial aneurysms have been extensively studied in the abdominal aorta since the fi rst description by While in 1972. However, similar aspects of atherosclerotic aneurysms located in other sites of the arterial system, such as the popliteal and femoral arteries, have been reported only exceptionally. To our knowledge, after an extensive search of PubMed using the terms in fl ammatory aneurysms, peripheral in fl ammatory aneurysms, peripheral aneuysms, and popliteal aneurysms, only two papers were found in the English language literature, and one of them is a case report [1, 2]. The fact that an in fl ammatory in fi ltrate has been described in a series of anatomical locations, such as the coronary arteries and the thoracic aorta, leads to the assumption that similar pathological processes occur more frequently than reported for �atherosclerotic� aneurysms of any anatomical district