Ten subjects with peripheral arterial occlusive disease were treated with buflomedil, analysing the effect of every single intravenous administration of the drug, and the effect of the administration repeated for a period of 5 days. This controlled study was aimed at evaluating the state of the peripheral blood flow, not just relating to the flowmetric parameters, but also to those more directly connected to the metabolic and functional conditions of the microcirculation. During every single administration, blood flow, skin and muscular temperatures were recorded. As concerned the drug's chronic effect, endurance limit, skin and muscular temperatures, whole blood viscosity, plasma viscosity and red cell filterability were recorded before beginning the treatment and after 15 days. The results of this study show that during a single buflomedil infusion no modifications have been observed in blood flow and muscular temperature, whereas skin temperature showed a slight increase. On the contrary, after a 15 days treatment, muscular temperature and endurance limit significantly increased, without flowmetric changes. A significant decrease in values of blood viscosity at high shear-rate was recorded too. The overall results seem to indicate that after treatment with buflomedil there is an improvement of the metabolic muscular conditions, probably due to a stimulant effect of the drug on microcirculatory blood flow.