[Upper extremity arterial diseases].

Compared to lower limb arterial diseases, upper limb arterial diseases look rare, heterogeneous with various etiologies and a rather vague clinical picture, but with a negligible risk of amputation. Almost all types of arterial diseases can be present in the upper limb, but the anatomical and hemodynamic conditions particular to the upper limb often confuse the issue. Thus, atherosclerosis affects mainly the subclavian artery in its proximal segment where the potential of collateral pathway is high making the symptomatic forms not very frequent whereas the prevalence of subclavian artery stenosis or occlusion is relatively high. The clinical examination and the etiologies are discussed according to the clinical, anatomical and hemodynamic context.