The small saphenous vein (also short saphenous vein or lesser saphenous vein) is a relatively large

superficial vein Superficial veins are veins that are close to the surface of the body, as opposed to deep veins, which are far from the surface. Superficial veins are not paired with an artery, unlike the deep veins, which are typically associated with an a ...

of the posterior leg.

Structure

The origin of the small saphenous vein, (SSV) is where the dorsal vein from the

fifth digit The little finger, or pinkie, also known as the baby finger, fifth digit, or pinky finger, is the most Anatomical terms of location#Hands and feet, ulnar and smallest digit of the human hand, and next to the ring finger. Etymology The word "p ...

(smallest toe) merges with the

dorsal venous arch of the foot The dorsal venous arch of the foot is a superficial vein that connects the small saphenous vein and the great saphenous vein. Anatomically, it is defined by where the dorsal veins of the first and fifth digit Digit may refer to: Mathemati ...

, which attaches to the great saphenous vein (GSV). It is a

, being

subcutaneous Subcutaneous may refer to: * Subcutaneous injection * Subcutaneous tissue The subcutaneous tissue (), also called the hypodermis, hypoderm (), subcutis, superficial fascia, is the lowermost layer of the integumentary system in vertebrates. The ...

(just under the skin). From its origin, it courses around the lateral aspect of the foot (inferior and posterior to the

lateral malleolus A malleolus is the bony prominence on each side of the human ankle. Each leg is supported by two bones, the tibia on the inner side (medial) of the leg and the fibula on the outer side (lateral) of the leg. The medial malleolus is the promi ...

) and runs along the posterior aspect of the leg (with the

sural nerve The sural nerve ''(L4-S1)'' is generally considered a pure cutaneous nerve of the posterolateral leg to the lateral ankle. The sural nerve originates from a combination of either the sural communicating branch and medial sural cutaneous nerve, o ...

), where it passes between the heads of the gastrocnemius muscle. This vein presents a number of different draining points. Usually, it drains into the popliteal vein, at or above the level of the

knee In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the human leg, leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest join ...

joint.

Variation

Sometimes, the SSV joins the common gastrocnemius vein before draining in the popliteal vein. Sometimes, it does not make contact with the popliteal vein, but goes up to drain in the GSV at a variable level. Instead of draining in the popliteal vein, it can merge with the Giacomini vein and drain in the GSV at the superior 1/3 of the thigh.

Clinical significance

Varicose veins

The small saphenous vein may become varicose. In 20% of cases, this is associated with chronic venous insufficiency. Vein stripping is an effective treatment.

Vein Harvesting

The small saphenous vein may be harvested for transplant to elsewhere in the body, such as in

coronary artery bypass surgery Coronary artery bypass surgery, also known as coronary artery bypass graft (CABG, pronounced "cabbage") is a surgical procedure to treat coronary artery disease (CAD), the buildup of plaques in the arteries of the heart. It can relieve chest pai ...

. Endoscopic vein harvesting can be used to extract the vein from the leg minimally invasively.

Additional images

File:Gray440 color.png, Cross-section through middle of leg File:Gray836.png, Nerves of the dorsum of the foot

References

External links

Illustration at pdn.cam.ac.uk
{{Authority control Veins of the lower limb