20 October, 2026 Health
There are two types of veins in legs. Deep within the leg muscles are the deep veins that carry the majority of the blood back to the heart. Important, large deep veins in the leg include: common femoral vein, femoral vein, profunda femoris vein, popliteal vein, and calf veins. These deep veins return nearly all of the blood from lower extremities. Superficial veins, on the other hand, are located in the subcutaneous tissue of the skin. In the medical world, “superficial” means shallow or near the skin as opposed to deep within the body’s musculature. Superficial veins do not receive much assistance from muscle contraction to transport blood; rather, superficial veins use their one-way valves to return the blood. The main superficial veins in the leg include: great saphenous vein (GSV) and small saphenous vein (SSV). Varicose veins are superficial. Varicose veins are part of the blood vessels that return blood from the legs to the heart.