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Venous thrombosis - series

Normal anatomy:

Veins carry blood back to the heart from the tissues. Blood flowing in the veins is under lower pressure and moves more slowly than blood flowing in the arteries. Blood is therefore more likely to clot in the veins, thus blocking the flow through the veins.

Reviewed last on: 6/10/2008
Sean O. Stitham, MD, private practice in Internal Medicine, Seattle, Washington; and James R. Mason, MD, Oncologist, Director, Blood and Marrow Transplantation Program and Stem Cell Processing Lab, Scripps Clinic, Torrey Pines, California. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

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