Veins carry blood back to the heart where the blood can be re-oxygenated. The venous system in the leg is divided into two interconnecting networks—deep and superficial. Deep veins lie within the muscle. The pumping action of the muscle of the lower legs compresses the veins and plays a major role in blood return to the heart. Superficial veins lie just beneath the skin. Their primary function is to return blood to the deep system via their branching network or via perforator veins that connect the superficial and deep pathways.
Veins have a one-way valve system that, when healthy, prevents retrograde, or reverse, flow of blood back down the leg.
Deep veins, in general, do not become varicosed because they are surrounded by the strong muscles of the legs, which support the vein architecture through their pumping actions.
The exact instigating cause of varicose veins of the superficial system is not known, but the lack of extrinsic compression by the surrounding muscles certainly plays a role. The veins become dilated. The one-way valves no longer close correctly, thereby allowing blood to fall back down the veins. Malfunctioning perforator veins can also result in retrograde, or reverse flow of blood from the deep to the superficial system, thus adding to the pressure in the varicose veins. Blood pools in the dilated Varicose Veins, thereby hindering return of blood to the deep system and ultimately to the heart. Left untreated, varicose veins will likely worsen, resulting in increasingly severe symptoms of leg pain, throbbing, swelling, burining pigmentary changes, phlebitis, ulcer formation of the skin, and bleeding.
Spider veins are the smaller superficial veins in the skin that may or may not be associated with underlying varicose veins. They are either blue or red, and although aesthetically unsightly, they usually do not cause symptoms. Spider veins are a common cosmetic concern for both women and men.
