Selectivity in the study of the cardiovascular system.

The principle of selectivity in the roentgenology of the cardiovascular system is now firmly established. The chambers of the heart and certain vascular beds lend themselves admirably to selective catheter or needle study, without the necessity of perfusing large segments of the cardiovascular bed which are irrelevant to a particular study.A technique of percutaneous transfemoral selective ciné coronary arteriography has been developed and applied to clinical subjects. Nevertheless, selectivity has specific limitations, and the use of the selective versus the nonselective approach must be weighed in each case, with the status of the patient as well as the requirements of the diagnostic investigation taken into account in reaching a decision.