Cardiovascular system · Lower limb
Plantar veins !
The plantar veins are deep veins of the sole; each step squeezes them and pushes blood up the leg toward the heart.
Official name: Medial plantar veins
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What it is
Deep veins of the sole that run with the plantar arteries.
What it does
Return blood from the sole. Weight on the foot squeezes them and helps push blood up the leg.
Key facts
- Drains
- Sole via plantar venous arch and medial and lateral plantar veins; plantar venous pump with each step
- Into
- Posterior tibial veins behind medial malleolus
Relations
- Course
- From the deep plantar venous arch, paired lateral and medial plantar veins run back with their arteries, deep to the abductor hallucis, and join behind the medial malleolus in the tarsal tunnel to form the posterior tibial veins
- Superficial
- The plantar fascia and the first-layer muscles of the sole
How to find it
Not felt; they run with the plantar arteries and nerves deep to abductor hallucis and reach the tarsal tunnel behind the medial malleolus, where the posterior tibial pulse is felt between the malleolus and the heel.
On imaging
Duplex ultrasound of the sole can show a non-compressible plantar vein in thrombosis; MRI shows a filling defect with oedema around the vein when ultrasound is unclear.
Clinical notes
- Intermittent pneumatic foot compression copies the foot pump to lower the risk of DVT when a person cannot walk
- Plantar vein thrombosis is rare; it causes pain in the sole that can be confused with plantar fasciitis and is shown by ultrasound or MRI
- Loss of the foot pump (no weight bearing, foot deformity, a stiff ankle) adds to venous swelling of the leg
Test yourself
Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.
Into which veins do the plantar veins drain, and where?
Into the posterior tibial veins, joining behind the medial malleolus in the tarsal tunnel.
What is the foot pump?
Each step flattens the plantar venous plexus and pushes blood into the posterior tibial veins, the first link of the foot, calf and thigh pumps.
Which rare condition of the plantar veins can be confused with plantar fasciitis?
Plantar vein thrombosis, which causes sole pain and is shown by ultrasound or MRI.
Educational information, not medical advice. For any symptom, see a health professional.
Its names
- Official Latin (TA2)
- venae plantares mediales; venae plantares laterales TA2 5079
- Official Spanish (DeCS)
- Venas plantares medial y lateral
- English (TA2)
- Medial plantar veins
Related
Sources: Terminologia Anatomica (TA2); Anatomy, Bony Pelvis and Lower Limb, Foot Veins; 20.5 Circulatory Pathways (OpenStax (Rice University), 2022) · adapted, CC BY 4.0.
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Representative model, for educational purposes only.
