Varicose Veins. Abnormally dilated, stretched and distorted veins of the lower extremity, called varicose veins, are a penalty put on the human race for standing upright. In some people leg veins can’t even be seen, but others less fortunate, have varicose veins on the legs and thighs that look like massive, grape-like


Fig. 141. Varicose veins are abnormally large, stretched veins, most often seen in the legs. The blood actually flows downward in them. Treatment now is very satisfactory, both surgically and otherwise, and should be done before complications develop. Bleeding, ulcer formation and blood clot formation can make varicose veins a very difficult problem.

knots which will bleed heavily if cut or torn. They are the result of inherited tendencies, or possibly from occupations which demand long standing, and from pregnancy. The final cause is the weight of the blood forcing weaker vein walls to stretch and expand. There are valves in normal veins permitting the blood to move only toward the heart, but in varicose veins, these overstretched valves do not work and blood actually flows backward, down toward the feet. We can make these veins disappear temporarily by lying down and holding the legs upward, so that gravity drains blood out of the veins instead of driving it backwards.

The treatment of varicose veins consists of closing up these dilated blood channels. This is done by removing the veins in a surgical operation, or injecting them with irritating chemicals which cause them to grow solidly together. These treatments are very successful when done by a physician who has had experience in the treatment of varicose veins.

An unwelcome complication of varicose veins, is the varicose ulcer, due to poor blood circulation in the skin just about the inner ankle. The backward blood flow in varicose veins, dams back the circulation of fresh blood, and the result is a brown pigmented, tight and shiny skin which finally breaks down to form the typical varicose ulcer. These ulcers, of course, exist only while the varicose veins exist.