Affiliation:
1. Department of Anatomy, Sapienza University and Campus Biomedico, Rome, Italy
2. Institute of Clinical Physiology, National Research Council, Massa, Italy
3. Department of Angiology, Barbantini Hospital, Lucca, Italy
Abstract
Background The aim of our study was to comparatively assess volume changes related to daily occupation of the whole leg (WLv), of the lower leg (LLv) and of the upper leg (ULv) in subject with no venous and lymphatic disorders. Method WLv, LLv, and Ulv were evaluated by water displacement volumetry (WDV) in the morning and in the evening in 20 healthy subjects. Results In the legs with occupational edema (OE), WLv increased by 7.07%, LLv by 5.25%, and ULv by 9.80%. In legs without clear OE, WLv increased by 2.41%, LLv by 1.35, and ULv by 3.38%. Conclusions Surprisingly, the increase of ULv was greater than that of LLv. An evening increase in the leg volume also occurred in legs with no clear OE. In our series, a clinically evident OE was related to an increase of the WLv, LLv, and ULv greater than 5.83%, 8.68%, and 1.88%, respectively.