What are the posterior tibial veins?

Your posterior tibial veins are blood vessels in your lower legs. They collect blood from your calves, ankles and soles of your feet and then carry it back to your heart. You have a right and left posterior tibial vein in your right leg and your left leg.

Veins play an important role in your circulatory system. They carry blood from your body back to your heart to receive oxygen. In blood circulation:

1. Blood leaving your heart carries oxygen to your tissues and organs throughout your body, exchanging the oxygen for a waste product called carbon dioxide.
2. Your veins carry the oxygen-poor blood from your body back to your heart.
3. Your heart sends the blood to your lungs, which exchange the carbon dioxide from the blood and add more oxygen (the process of exhaling and inhaling, respectively).
4. Your arteries carry the oxygen-rich blood back through your body.

Is the posterior tibial vein a deep vein?

Yes. Your posterior tibial veins are deep calf veins.

What are the types of deep veins in the legs?

Below your knee (lower leg), your leg has three types of deep veins. These three veins run next to each other and all collect blood from your calves, ankles and certain portions of your feet:

• Anterior tibial veins collect blood from the top of your foot (dorsum). They run along the outside of your calves.
• Posterior tibial veins collect blood from the sole of your foot. They run along the inside of your calves.
• Peroneal tibial veins collect blood from the outer side (lateral aspect) of your foot. They run along the middle of your calves.

What does the posterior tibial vein do?

Your posterior tibial vein collects blood from your lower legs to carry back to your heart.

Where are the posterior tibial veins located?

Your posterior tibial veins start around your ankle joint and run up the inside of your calves. They end just below your knees.

When they reach your popliteus muscle, a stabilizing muscle deep in your knee joint, they join your anterior tibial veins. At this point, your posterior and anterior tibial veins form your popliteal vein.

What common conditions and disorders affect the posterior tibial veins?

Several conditions may affect the health of your posterior tibial veins, including:

• Blood clots: Coagulated blood that blocks blood flow.
• Chronic venous insufficiency: A condition in which leg veins have difficulty carrying blood to your heart because of leaky valves, allowing blood to pool in your lower legs.
• Deep vein thrombosis: A condition in which a blood clot forms in one of your deep veins, such as the posterior tibial veins.
• Varicose veins: Twisted, bulging veins that occur due to damaged or weak vein walls.

What are common tests to check the health of your posterior tibial veins?

Your healthcare provider may use specialized tests to check the health of your posterior tibial veins, including:

• Duplex ultrasound: This test uses high-frequency ultrasounds to evaluate how blood flows through your leg veins and arteries.
• Venogram: Your provider injects a contrast material into your veins, then uses X-rays to view how blood flows through your veins.

What are the common treatments for conditions affecting the posterior tibial veins?

Your healthcare provider may offer several treatments for conditions that affect your posterior tibial veins, including:

• Compression stockings: These garments gently squeeze your legs to improve blood flow.
• Medications: Your provider may prescribe medicines to thin your blood (anticoagulants) and prevent blood clots. Or they may recommend medicines to remove excess fluid from your body (diuretics).
• Ambulatory phlebectomy: Your provider numbs a portion of your leg, then uses small needle pricks to remove varicose veins.
• Catheter-directed thrombolytic therapy: Your provider uses a hollow tube (catheter) to inject a clot-dissolving medicine into a vein.
• Laser therapy: Your provider uses laser energy to close a damaged vein.
• Sclerotherapy: Your provider injects a chemical into the damaged vein so it dissolves and doesn’t carry blood back to your heart.
• Surgery: Your provider may surgically remove or repair damaged veins. Your provider also may reroute blood flow around the damaged vein or transplant a healthy vein from elsewhere in your body.

What simple lifestyle tips help keep your posterior tibial veins healthy?

You can increase the health of your leg veins and circulatory system by:

• Avoiding crossed legs when seated.
• Elevating your legs to increase blood flow back to your heart.
• Exercising regularly.
• Wearing compression stockings during long periods of standing or sitting.

A note from Cleveland Clinic

Your posterior tibial veins are deep veins located in your lower legs. They collect blood from your feet and calves and carry it back to your heart. Several conditions can cause problems with blood flow. If you have a condition that affects blood flow, your healthcare provider may recommend noninvasive treatments such as wearing compression stockings.