Hypertensive ischemic leg ulcer (Martorell's ulcer): a specific disease entity?

Histology of seven clinically diagnosed cases of Martorell's ulcer was compared with that of twenty-seven crural ulcers of venous origin. Although the majority of Martorell's ulcers are accompanied by a longstanding hypertension with markedly elevated diastolic pressure values, the conception of a specific disease entity with a common etiology should be abandoned. Some of the cases may be due to hypertension alone, but others may be caused or at least enhanced by other microvascular disorders.