Figure 1.

Laser Doppler imaging of ischemic hindlimb after surgical ligation of the femoral artery (ie, hindlimb ischemia). Wild-type mice 6 to 8 weeks of age underwent surgical ligation of the femoral artery. Blood flow was assessed by laser Doppler imaging before ligation (day 0) and at days 1, 3, 7, 14, 21, and 28 after surgery. Blood flow in the ischemic calf is expressed as a ratio of the blood flow in the contralateral nonischemic limb. Data represent an average value for all animals at each time point (n = 7). Blood flow decreases to 20% after arterial ligation and then recovers to 66%. Error bars represent the SEM.