THE VEINS ON THE DORSUM OF THE FOOT / 解剖学报

ABSTRACT

The veins on the dorsum of the foot have been dissected and observed on 200cases of the Chinese adult lower extremities.The great saphenous vein is the chief draining vessel of the hallux,the toes andthe skin of the dorsum of the foot.The position and the tributaries of this vessel areconstant.Its diameter ranges from 1.9 to 5.0mm,with an average of 3.2mm.The dorsal venous arch is usually single(93%),double arches are seen in 6%,and absent in 1%.According to the form of reflux,the dorsal venous arch may begrouped into five types.In the most common type,the arch is continuous withthe great saphenous vein and the anterior malleolar branch of the small saphenousvein(49.5%).The dorsal metatarsal veins usually drain directly into the dorsal venous arch.Some of the neighboring dorsal metatarsal veins may drain through a commontrunk.The perforating veins on the dorsum of the foot may be divided into threedifferent groupsthe anterior malleolar,marginal and intermetatarsal group.Thelatter usually drains into the dorsal venous arch at the base of the first intermeta-tarsal space.The valves of the superficial veins on the dorsum of the foot were also observed.There is no valve in the lateral part of the dorsal venous arch,but there may beone or two valves in its most medial part(66.7%).It appears that the venousblood from the first metatarsal vein usually drains into the great saphenous vein.