Chapters authored
Anatomy of Extramuscular Soleus Veins: Clinical Impact
The venous system of the lower limbs has great structural and functional anatomical complexity which must be considered in different dysfunctions of this system. This complexity lies mainly in the venous return, which is changed from the upright position and ambulation and other factors such as level of physical activity, heart function, circulating blood volume, and ambient temperature. Anatomical description of soleus veins (SV) has received little attention from books’ anatomy texts. These veins are intramuscular deep veins and known as the main chamber of the calf pump. Soleus veins have been implicated as the site for deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Detailed anatomical knowledge is required for early diagnosis using noninvasive ultrasound techniques. In the present work, we describe the anatomy of the veins that emerge from the ventral surface of the soleus muscle. Twenty-eight soleus muscles were dissected and 543 veins were found. The number of veins per leg ranged from 7 to 38. The distribution of these veins per quadrant ranged from 0 to 12. The greatest number of veins occurred in the upper lateral quadrant. Most of the soleus veins drained into the posterior tibial and fibular veins. The mean length of the soleus veins ranged from 0.907 to 2.804 cm. We conclude that there is a wide variability in the distribution of soleus veins through the soleus muscle and its quadrants. The majority of the soleus veins drain into the tibial and fibular veins.
Part of the book: Human Anatomy