The Femoral Diaphyseal Medullary Venous System as a Venous Collateral Channel in the Dog

Abstract

Collateral circulation via the venous channels of the canine femur was investigated by means of roentgenographic and tracer techniques. In approximately 50 per cent of extremities with acute venous obstruction, collateral circulation was demonstrated as reversal of blood flow through small tributaries of the femoral vein entering the distal femoral metaphysis, following the central medullary venous system, and draining through the normal channels from the proximal end of the femur. This retrograde flow was rarely visualized without venous obstruction at mid-thigh and was demonstrated with increased frequency if the femoral vein had been ligated sixteen to thirty-eight days previously.