Everything about Greater Saphenous Vein totally explained
The
great saphenous vein (GSV), also
greater saphenous vein, is the large (subcutaneous)
superficial vein of the
leg and
thigh. First described by the
Persian physician
Avicenna in the 11th century, it derives its name from the term 'Safin' meaning hidden. It travels mostly in its own fascial compartment in the thigh and is hence 'hidden'.
Path
The GSV originates from where the dorsal vein of the
first digit (the large toe) merges with the
dorsal venous arch of the foot.
After passing anterior to the
medial malleolus (where it often can be visualized and
palpated), it runs up the
medial side of the leg.
At the knee, it runs over the posterior border of the
medial epicondyle of the femur bone.
The great saphenous vein then courses laterally to lie on the anterior surface of the thigh before entering an opening in the
fascia lata called the
saphenous opening.
It joins with the
femoral vein in the region of the
femoral triangle.
Tributaries
At the ankle it receives branches from the sole of the foot through the
medial marginal vein; in the lower leg it anastomoses freely with the
small saphenous vein, communicates with the
anterior and
posterior tibial veins and receives many cutaneous veins; in the thigh it communicates with the
femoral vein and receives numerous tributaries; those from the medial and posterior parts of the
thigh frequently unite to form a large
accessory saphenous vein which joins the main vein at a variable level.
Near the
fossa ovalis it's joined by the
superficial epigastric,
superficial iliac circumflex, and
superficial external pudendal veins.
A vein, named the
thoracoepigastric, runs along the lateral aspect of the trunk between the
superficial epigastric vein below and the
lateral thoracic vein above and establishes an important communication between the
femoral and
axillary veins.
Use in cardiovascular procedures
The vein is often removed by
cardiac surgeons and used for
autotransplantation in
coronary artery bypass operations, when arterial grafts are not available or many grafts are required, such as in a
triple bypass or
quadruple bypass.
The great saphenous vein is the conduit of choice for
vascular surgeons, when available, for doing
peripheral arterial bypass operations because it has superior long-term patency compared to synthetic grafts (
PTFE,
PETE (Dacron)),
human umbilical vein grafts or biosynthetic grafts [Omniflow]. Often, it's used
in situ (in place), after tying off smaller tributaries and stripping the
valves with a device called
LeMaitre's valvulotome.
The
saphenous nerve is a branch of the
femoral nerve that runs with the great saphenous vein and is often damaged in surgeries that make use of the similarly named vein.
When emergency resuscitation with fluids is necessary, and standard
intravenous access can not be achieved due to venous collapse,
saphenous vein cutdown may be necessary.
Pathology of the saphenous vein
Pathology of the great saphenous vein is relatively common, but in isolation typically not life threatening.
Phlebitis: The great saphenous vein can become infected.
Thrombophlebitis: The great saphenous vein can thrombose and become infected. Thrombophlebitis of the great saphenous vein isn't life threatening in isolation; however, it may be associated with deep vein thrombosis which can be and thus requires further investigation.[Further Information]
Get more info on 'Greater Saphenous Vein'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://great_saphenous_vein.totallyexplained.com">Great saphenous vein Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
