Age-related characteristics of veins

With age, the diameter of the veins, their cross-sectional area and length increase. For example, the superior vena cava is short in children due to the high position of the heart. In the first year of a child's life, in children aged 8-12 years and in adolescents, the length and cross-sectional area of the superior vena cava increase. In mature people, these indicators remain almost unchanged, and in elderly people and the elderly, due to age-related changes in the structure of the walls of this vein, an increase in its diameter is observed. The inferior vena cava in a newborn is short and relatively wide (diameter about 6 mm). By the end of the first year of life, its diameter increases slightly, and then faster than the diameter of the superior vena cava. In adults, the diameter of the inferior vena cava (at the level of the confluence of the renal veins) is approximately 25-28 mm. Simultaneously with the increase in the length of the vena cava, the position of their tributaries changes. The portal vein and the superior and inferior mesenteric and splenic veins that form it are mostly formed in a newborn.

After birth, the topography of the superficial veins of the body and limbs changes. Thus, a newborn has dense subcutaneous venous plexuses. Large veins are not outlined against their background. By 1-2 years of life, the larger great and small saphenous veins of the leg are clearly visible from these veins, and on the upper limb - the lateral and medial saphenous veins of the arm. The diameter of the superficial veins of the leg increases rapidly from the neonatal period to 2 years: the great saphenous vein almost 2 times, and the small saphenous vein - 2.5 times.

[ 1 ], [ 2 ], [ 3 ], [ 4 ], [ 5 ], [ 6 ], [ 7 ], [ 8 ], [ 9 ], [ 10 ]