Venous Insufficiency Anatomical Variations and Nomenclature: A Review

Abstract

Venous disease is more common than arterial and lymphatic disease, resulting in significant patient morbidity and mortality. The primary diagnostic tool used to diagnose venous disease is duplex ultrasound. Venous duplex has virtually eliminated the use of venograms to diagnose deep venous thrombosis. Venous duplex is an indispensable diagnostic tool in the diagnosis of venous insufficiency, planning ablative and surgical procedures, performing those procedures, and postprocedure surveillance. As such, it is extremely important for vascular sonographers to understand the anatomical variations as well as the appropriate nomenclature of the lower extremity venous system. This allows the sonographer to accurately represent the extent of venous insufficiency to the reading physician. In this article we present a review of the most current guidelines for anatomical variations and for venous insufficiency.