Those ugly and prominent veins which many people develop in their legs are part of the penalty that man has incurred for walking on his two legs.
A vein is varicose when it is dilated and tortuous.
The legs are the most common site for varicose veins, and this is related to posture. But the veins in the scrotum also may develop varicosity, and this is called a varicocele.
Varicose veins may arise around the anal ring, and are called piles or haemorrhoids.
And varicosites also may develop around the gullet, or oesophagus, usually due to liver damage.
Blood flows from the heart through the arteries and there is a head of pressure behind the blood forcing it onward. However, there is no such pump to move the blood through the veins back to the heart.
Muscular contractions force the column of blood along the veins, and in the legs this is against gravity.
Situated along the veins are small valves which break this column of blood into small segments and which prevent backward flow.
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