Anatomic and histologic studies of vein valves were made on 50 adult cadav ers (100 lower extremities). In the deep and superficial venous trunks, big valves were found mostly with two cuspids. At the inlets of their branches, small valves monocuspid in shape were commonly found. There was no valve in the common iliac vein, and the percentages of the other veins containing valves were: external iliac 42%, common femoral 51%, deep femoral 88%, superficial femoral 100%, popliteal 93%, tibioperoneal trunk 26%, and all the deep veins in the lower leg, including tibial and peroneal 100%. The valves in the deep venous trunk are much stronger than those in the long saphenous vein. They can resist a retrograde pressure of 180 to 420 and 100 to 260 mmHg respectively.
The clinical value of this study concerning the staged arteriovenous reversal in the treatment of severely ischemic limbs and the etiology of the primary incompetence of the deep veins of the lower extremity are discussed.
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