greater saphenous vein, one of a pair of the longest veins in the body, which contains 10 to 20 valves along its course through the leg and the thigh before ending in the femoral vein. It begins in the medial marginal vein of the dorsum of the foot and ascends anteriorly to the tibial malleolus and up the medial side of the leg in relation to the saphenous nerve. It runs posteriorly to the medial condyles of the tibia and the femur and passes through the saphenous hiatus immediately before joining the femoral vein. It contains more valves in the leg than in the thigh and receives many cutaneous veins and numerous tributaries, such as those from the sole of the foot. Near the saphenous hiatus it is joined by the superficial epigastric vein, the superficial epigastric circumflex, and the superficial external pudendal veins. Also called saphenous vein. Compare common iliac vein, femoral vein.
