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1. Muscle
2. Venous
valve
3. Vein
4. Artery |
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The most common vein disorder is varicose veins. The word
"varicose" means "swollen" and characterises the most
common form of the superficial veins. Another medical term for the enlarged
and tortuous, bluish blood vessels is varices: they are the result of the
dilation and bulging of a normal vein in the superficial venous system.
However, it has never yet been explained how and why a varicose vein develops.
Is it due to defective venous valves which do not close properly and
therefore lead to dilatation of the vein, or is the cause increased
brittleness and permeability of the capillaries resulting in disturbed blood
circulation, or perhaps the two factors are mutually dependent? One thing is
certain: the vein is not functioning correctly and the blood, following the
law of gravity, is able to sink down in the legs so that the veins walls
expand more and more. Up to a litre of blood can become lost to the body in
this way; although it is still circulating in the venous system of the legs,
it is no longer available to the circulatory system of the body to be
recharged with oxygen and nutrients in the lung.
The following factors can cause the superficial veins to dilate:
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the thin vessel walls with little in
the way of muscle,
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high counterpressure, due to
sneezing, coughing, squeezing or straining at stool,
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they have very little supporting
muscle surrounding them,
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there is almost no support from
adjacent connective tissue.
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