RESUMO
In the present study, the administration of calcium dobesilate led to various histological and histochemical changes in the femoral artery in the form of dose related increase in mitotic figures in the tunica media in addition to mononuclear cellular infiltration in the tunica adventitia. Endothelial cell enlargement and foreign body multinucleated giant cells were noticed in all treated groups of animals except those which received therapeutic doses of the drug for 2 weeks. Meanwhile, in the femoral vein enlargement of the endothelial cells and an apparent decrease in the thickness of wall ranging from moderate to marked were also seen. Moreover, calcium dobesilate treatment causes a dose-related increase in the amount of collagenous fibers and in the PAS positive material. An increase in the alkaline phosphatase enzyme activity was observed in all treated groups of animals which received the drug for 2 and 4 weeks. On the contrary, a progressive decrease in the density of internal and external elastic lamina is shown in the femoral artery and vein