Micro-venous valves in the superficial veins of the human lower limb.

It is commonly believed that venous valves are not present in veins smaller than 2 mm in diameter. Venous valves, however, have been identified recently in small veins in several regions of the body. This study was undertaken to determine the size distribution of venous valves in the human lower limb micro-venous circulation. Vascular casts were made from six adult lower limbs and the sampled areas were viewed by scanning electron microscopy. In total, 2,376 valves were identified from 410 cm(3) of subcutaneous tissue. The vast majority (94%) of the valves were in veins less than 300 microm in luminal diameter, with 65% of the valves present in venous channels less than 100 microm in luminal diameter. The smallest valves identified were present in venous channels 18 microm in diameter. All valves were bicuspid and often associated with a tributary. Endothelial cells on the vein wall not associated with a valve were fusiform and arranged parallel to the long axis of the vessel, however, the endothelial cells on the luminal and valve sinus surfaces of the cusp were more polyhedral in shape and showed no obvious pattern of alignment. This study provides direct evidence to show that small superficial veins of the human lower limb do contain abundant venous valves and, for the first time, shows that the majority of these valves are present within venous channels less than 100 microm in luminal diameter. Copyright 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.