Vessel wall images from the great saphenous vein stained with Masson's trichrome

Microscopic images of the vessel wall segments from the great saphenous vein stained with Masson's trichrome and taken with 4x magnification. Control samples come from subjects undergoing judicial autopsy. After checking through the medical history and physical inspection that the body showed no signs of venous insufficiency, internal saphenous vein segments were removed and immediately processed for histological studies. Samples classified as "competent" (normal venous flow) and "incompetent" (retrograde venous flow, reflux) were obtained from patients diagnosed with venous insufficiency of the great saphenous vein. The diagnosis was made by venous Doppler ultrasound. The tissue samples were taken and immediately processed for histological studies according to standard techniques.