Venous Ulceration: The Role of the White Blood Cell

Abstract

White blood cells (WBC) become trapped in the legs of patients with chronic venous insufficiency (CVI), in response to raised venous pressure. We have sampled blood from the foot and arm veins in normal patients and those with CVI. When the venous pressure in the arm was raised to 80 mmHg we demonstrated white cell trapping in both the hand and forearm, but we were unable to demonstrate WBC trapping in the foot, as opposed to the leg, in response to changes in posture. Capillary microscopy of the supra-malleolar skin of the ankle confirmed that a reduction of the number of funtional capillaries occured in response to an increase in venous pressure.