Comparative morphological and morphometric analysis of the structure of the wall of the calf venous collectors

Introduction. Development of venous pathology of the lower extremities is based on morphological changes in the vascular wall. Further structural restructuring of the vein wall in chronic venous insufficiency will depend on the initially present differences in the structure of their walls. Aim. To conduct a comparative analysis of morphological and morphometric features of the structure of the walls of the main venous collectors of the lower leg: the great saphenous vein, intramuscular veins, posterior tibia veins and poplitea vein. Materials and methods . Histological studies were carried out on autopsy material of the veins of 32 people who died from various causes aged 35 to 50 years and 10 amputated limbs. Morphological studies of the venous wall were carried out by light microscopy with digital photo processing. Results . A quantitative comparative analysis of morphological changes with the determination of the volume fraction of smooth muscle and connective tissue elements of various membranes of the venous wall, as well as measurement of the total thickness of the vascular wall and its ratio to the lumen of the veins showed statistically significant differences at a significance level of p < 0.05. Discussion . Despite the similarity of the general morphological picture of the structure of various venous collectors of the lower leg, structural differences were established, which concerned the volume fraction of the presence of both smooth muscle and connective tissue elements. Conclusion . The comparative qualitative and quantitative statistical analysis of morphological and morphometric features of the structure of the walls of the main venous collectors of the lower leg allows us to make an assumption about the unequal role of individual main venous collectors in the work of the muscular-venous pump of the lower leg as a whole.