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The underlying cause of venous ulceration is chronic venous insufficiency arising from damage to the microvasculature, and in particular venous non-return valves which when healthy prevent retrograde blood flow back into the legs.
Subsequently, pooling of blood and raised blood pressure levels in the lower leg occurs, which damages the walls of the veins allowing
fluid and proteins to leak into the surrounding tissues leading to oedema. (Anderson et al 2006)
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