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Varicose Veins Spider Telangiectasias Greater Saphenous Insufficiency Chronic Venous Insufficiency Thrombophlebitis

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Venous Diseases

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The circulatory system is a network of blood vessels, the largest being the arteries and the veins. The heart pumps oxygen-rich blood through the arteries to all body tissues. This provides the body cells with the nourishment and oxygen needed. The veins return the blood from the body to be enriched with oxygen and repumped by the heart. As venous blood flows toward the heart, it travels from the superficial to the deep veins. The superficialveins are located close to the surface of the skin while the deep veins are in the middle of the arms and legs closer to the bones.
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Blood flows much faster and under more pressure in the arteries than the veins. In order to manage this pressure, arteries have strong, muscular walls. Because there is less pressure in the veins, the walls are not nearly as strong. The inner walls of the veins have a system of valves, which open as blood flows toward the heart. The valves close to stop blood from flowing backward toward the feet. The muscles of the legs help venous blood return to the heart by squeezing the vein and pushing blood upward. Moving feet, and walking causes this pumping action to occur. The legs contain two major types of veins. Deep veins, located near the leg bones, are enclosed by muscle and return approximately 85% of the blood to the heart. The iliac, femoral, popliteal and tibial veins are the deep veins in the lower extremities. Superficial veins are near the surface of the skin and have very little muscle support. Superficial veins return approximately 15% of the blood to the heart.

Several problems can occur in the venous system. The walls of the veins can become weak. The valves may quit working; allowing blood to collect or sluggish blood flow through the leg veins can cause swelling and blood clots to develop. The most common venous problems are varicose veins, deep venous thrombosis (DVT), thrombophlebitis, and venous ulcers due to chronic venous insufficiency. The following venous diseases are discussed in more detail below: