The venous valves of the lower limbs

Alberto Caggiati Department of Anatomy University “La Sapienza”, Rome, Italy ABSTRACT Venous valves appear after the heart begins to beat and the primordial muscles begin to move the limb buds. The pressure gradient due to heart beats and muscle movements triggers the process of venous valve development. Prenatal, postnatal, and senile morphological and numerical rearrangements have been described. However, the signaling pathways related to venous valve morphogenesis have yet to be clearly demonstrated. The cusps of the venous valves consist of thin collagen half-moon–shaped folds covered by endothelium, which spring from the wall of the vein very close to each…

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Venous embryology: the key to understanding anomalous venous conditions

Byung-Boong LEE Professor of Surgery and Director, Center for Lymphedema and Vascular Malformations, George Washington University School of Medicine, Washington DC, USA ABSTRACT Venous embryology can explain many of the defects resulting in venous anomalies in later life, yet is often overlooked. Venous malformations are vascular malformations that only affect the venous system. They are classified into two different types depending on the embryological stage when the defective development occurs. Venous malformations originating during the early stage of embryogenesis are termed extratruncular, while those originating during the late stage of embryogenesis are classified as truncular. A defect at any point…

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The plantar venous pump: Anatomy and physiological hypotheses

Jean-François UHL1,2 Claude GILLOT1 1- Laboratoire d’Anatomie Unité de Recherche URDIA- EA 4566, Université Paris Descartes – France 2- Centre de Chirurgie des Varices Paris Défense, France SUMMARY An anatomical study of 200 (cadaveric) feet injected with latex demonstrated that Lejars’ concept of the venous sole of the foot is incorrect: the true plantar venous pump consists of the plantar veins, located deep between the plantar muscles and compressed by weight bearing during walking. The normal venous sole (Bourceret) is a thin network and its dilatation (Lejars) is pathological, attributed to severe distal venous stasis. The blood reservoir of the…

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New computer tools for virtual dissection to study the anatomy of the vascular system

Jean-François UHL1,2 Sylvain ORDUREAU2,3 1 – Centre de Chirurgie des Varices, 113 Avenue Charles De Gaulle, Neuilly/Seine, France 2 – Unité d’anatomie numérique – Biomédicale des Saints-Pères, Université Paris 5 Descartes France 3 – Useful Progress – 45 rue des Saints Pères, Paris, France SUMMARY The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the major role played by the new computerized imaging tools available today in the fields of morphology and vascular anatomy. For anatomical studies or educational purposes, they enhance classic techniques. Three-dimensional reconstruction, which is already used in daily clinical practice, will be the basis for computation of…

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