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While
arteries carry blood from the heart to all tissues and
organs, veins serve
to transport blood back to the
heart. To perform that efficiently against
gravity, veins have one-way
valves. When the valves malfunction, blood
flow is impaired and the veins enlarge
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The
abnormal veins are
named after their size with the
smallest called
spider veins and the
largest called
varicose veins
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The
lower limbs are the
commonest site for varicose
veins
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The veins of the
lower limb can be
divided into three groups:
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Superficial veins (close to the skin surface)
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Deep veins (close
to the bones
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Perforators
(joining the above two groups)
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Superficial venous incompetence is
the most common
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The most important of the
superficial system are the saphenous veins. From a venous arch in the
foot, the Great Saphenous Vein
(GSV) travels all the way to join the deep
vein in the groin, while a smaller vein called the
Small Saphenous Vein (SSV)
joins the deep vein at the knee level on the
back of the leg. Some people have a duplicate GSV and
rarely three or may be four. In addition, some are
born with veins running parallel to the main saphenous veins and called
accessory saphenous veins. These may also get diseased and require
treatment
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70%
of patients with varicose veins have the disease
secondary to incompetence of the great saphenous vein (GSV)
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Around the ankle particularly
on the inner aspect, clusters
of small veins could be an indication of
reflux into the great saphenous vein (GSV). This
finding- in addition to skin pigmentation and or
ulceration- is a landmark of chronicity and severity of
venous insufficiency.
