VARICOSE See also:

• VEINS

VEINS (See also:

• LAT

Lat. varix, a dilated vein)  , a See also:

• CONDITION (Lat. condicio, from condicere, to agree upon, arrange; not connected with conditio, from condere, conditum, to put together)

condition of the See also:

• VEINS

veins which mostly occurs in those parts of the See also:

• BLOOD

blood-stream which are farthest from the See also:

• HEART
• HEART, LUNG

heart and occupy a de-pendent position . Thus they are found in the legs and thighs; in the lowest See also:

• PART

part of the bowel (piles; see See also:

• HAEMORRHOIDS, or HEMORRHOIDS (from Gr. aiµa, blood, and bap, to flow)

HAEMORRHOIDS), and in the spermatic See also:

• CORD (derived through the Fr. corde, from the Lat. chorda, Gr. xop(5rt, the string of a musical instrument)

cord (varicocele) . Any condition which hinders the return of blood from the veins is See also:

• APT

apt to cause their permanent See also:

• DILATATION (from Lat. dis-, distributive, and lotus, wide)

dilatation; thus is explained the occurrence of varicose B B' veins in the See also:

• LEG
• LEG (a word of Scandinavian origin, from the Old Norwegian leggr, cf. Swed. lagg, Dan. laeg; the O. Eng. word was sceanca, shank)

leg from the wearing of a tight garter, and of piles as the result of the pressure of an ovarian See also:

• TUMOUR (Lat. tumor, a swelling)

tumour or of a pregnant uterus, or of disease of the See also:

• LIVER (O. Eng. lifer; cf. cognate forms, Dutch lever, Ger. Leber, Swed. lefver, &c.; the O. H. Ger. forms are libara, lipora, &c.; the Teut. word has been connected with Gr. i'prap and Lat. jecur)

liver . Sometimes the trouble is begun by a See also:

• DIRECT

direct injury to the vein, which, by setting up an inflammation, weakens the coats of the vein, which then yield under the pressure of the blood-stream . In the See also:

• CASE
• CASE, JOHN (d. 1600)

case of varicocele, the dilatation of the veins is probably of developmental origin; many other causes are given, but not one of them appears satisfactory . Examination of a varicose vein shows that it is increased in length as well as in capacity . In some parts of its course the vein has its coats much thickened, but at those places where there is most dilatation the walls are very thin . Veins thus affected give rise to pains and achings, and they are, moreover, liable to attacks of inflammation which end in clotting of the blood (thrombosis) . This is a dangerous condition, as a sudden or violent See also:

• MOVEMENT

movement is apt to cause the detachment of a piece of the See also:

• CLOT, ANTOINE

clot, which, carried up to the See also:

• BRAIN (A.S. braegen)

brain or the See also:

• LUNG

lung, may cause sudden See also:

• DEATH

death . Less serious results of varicose veins are swelling of the parts below (oedema), ulceration and See also:

• ABSCESS (from Lat. abscedere, to separate)

abscess . As regards treatment, the wearing of a well-fitting elastic See also:

• STOCKING (a diminutive of " stock," post, stump, properly that which is stuck or fixed)

stocking will prove beneficial in the case of a moderate dilatation of the veins of the leg; the individual must avoid See also:

• LONG, GEORGE (1800-1879)
• LONG, JOHN DAVIS (1838– )

long See also:

• STANDING

standing and fatigue . It is well also to have the See also:

• FOOT

foot of the See also:

• BED
• BED (a common Teutonic word, cf. German Bett, probably connected with the Indo-European root bhodh, seen in the Lat. fodere, to dig; so " a dug-out place " for safe resting, or in the same sense as a garden " bed ")

bed raised three or four inches, so that during the See also:

• NIGHT

night the veins may be kept as empty as possible .

If the case is more serious, the thinned veins threatening to give way, it will be advisable, provided the dilatations are fairly well localized, and the See also:

• GENERAL
• GENERAL (Lat. generalis, of or relating to a genus, kind or class)

general condition of the patient permits, to See also:

• EXCISE (derived through the Dutch, excijs or accijs, possibly from Late Lat. accensare,—ad, to, and census, tax; the word owes something to a confusion with excisum, cut out)

excise the diseased parts, tying the cut ends of the veins, and closing the See also:

• SURFACE

surface wounds with See also:

• FINE

fine sutures . Should a varicose vein be plugged with clot, it will be advisable to tie it high up where the coats are healthy, and to remove the See also:

• LOWER

lower part by See also:

• DISSECTION (from Lat. dissecare, to cut apart)

dissection . This will render the See also:

• PERSON, OFFENCES AGAINST THE

person safe from the very serious See also:

• RISK

risk of a piece of the clot being carried to the heart, and will also permanently rid him of his trouble . It may be said generally that any operative treatment for varicose veins in the lower extremity is best associated with the application of a ligature upon the large surface vein just before it enters the See also:

• COMMON

common femoral vein below the See also:

• FOLD

fold of the See also:

• GROIN

groin . This operation removes the risk of the downward pressure of blood in the veins whose dilatation has rendered the valves useless . In the case of a varicose vein being opened by See also:

• ACCIDENT
• ACCIDENT (from Lat. accidere, to happen)

accident or disease, it is quite possible for the individual to bleed to death . The first-aid treatment for the serious See also:

• HAEMORRHAGE (Gr. atµa, blood, and prryvvvac, to burst)

haemorrhage should consist in laying the patient on the See also:

• FLOOR (from O. Eng. flor, a word common to many Teutonic languages, cf. Dutch vloer, and Ger. Flur, a field, in the feminine, and a floor, masculine)

floor, raising the See also:

• LIMB

limb upon the seat of a See also:

• CHAIR (in. Mid. Eng. chcere, through O. Fr. chaire or chaiere, from Lat. cathedra, later caledra, Gr. xaOi3pa, seat, cf. "cathedral"; the modern Fr. form chaise, a chair, has been adopted in English with a particular meaning as a form of carriage; chaire

chair, and fixing a See also:

• PAD

pad over the open See also:

• VESSEL (O. Fr. vaissel, from a rare Lat. vascellum, dim. of vas, vase, urn)

vessel by a handkerchief or bandage . Varicose veins of the spermatic cord (varicocele) of the See also:

• LEFT

left See also:

• SIDE
• SIDE (mod. Eski Adalia)

side are met with in adolescents . The dilatation is, in all See also:

• PROBABILITY (Lat. probabilis, probable or credible)

probability, of developmental origin, making its See also:

• APPEARANCE (from Lat. apparere, to appear)

appearance at See also:

• PUBERTY (Lat. pubertas, from pubes, puber, mature, adult)

puberty . It is, as a See also:

• RULE

rule, of no serious moment, and, unless See also:

• PRESENT

present in an extreme degree, had best be treated merely by a suspension bandage . If, however, it is causing real See also:

• PHYSICAL

physical See also:

• DISTRESS

distress, it may be treated by excision of an See also:

• INCH (O. Eng. ynce from Lat. uncia, a twelfthpart; cf. " ounce," and see As)

inch or two of the bunch of dilated veins . The presence of varicocele is apt to cause inconvenience or even discomfort to men living in See also:

• INDIA
• INDIA, FRENCH

India or the tropics, but the Englishman who intends spending his See also:

• LIFE

life in temperate climes will do well to ignore a varicocele .

It will become less and less noticeable as See also:

• TIME (0. Eng. Lima, cf. Icel. timi, Swed. timme, hour, Dan. time; from the root also seen in " tide," properly the time of between the flow and ebb of the sea, cf. O. Eng. getidan, to happen, " even-tide," &c.; it is not directly related to Lat. tempus)
• TIME, MEASUREMENT OF
• TIME, STANDARD

time goes on . (E .