Chronic venous disorders: from macrocirculation to microcirculation

Abstract

Recent findings suggest that inflammatory processes are involved in the structural remodelling in venous valves and in the vein wall, leading to valve incompetence and the development of varicose veins. This has been shown by several authors who found infiltration of valve leaflets and the venous wall by leukocytes (monocytes and tissue macrophages) in all valve specimens from patients with chronic venous disease (CVD) and in none from controls.