Meaning & use
peroneal vein
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountablemedical
One of the deep veins running beside the fibula in the lower leg, which carries blood from the calf and outer ankle back toward the heart.
Grammar: Usually appears in pairs and in the plural in reports: the peroneal veins.
Patterns
- thrombosis in the peroneal vein
- the peroneal vein of the leg
The ultrasound found a clot in the peroneal vein of her left leg.
The peroneal vein joins the posterior tibial veins behind the knee.
Blood drains from the calf muscles through the peroneal vein.
Word forms
| plural | peroneal veins |
|---|
Common combinations
- clot in the peroneal vein
- The scan showed a clot in the peroneal vein.
- peroneal vein thrombosis
- Peroneal vein thrombosis can occur after long flights.
- deep peroneal vein
- The deep peroneal vein runs close to the bone.
- paired peroneal veins
- The paired peroneal veins accompany the peroneal artery.
Synonyms and how they differ
- fibular vein
- Fibular vein is the modern anatomical name, and peroneal vein is the older but still very common clinical term.
Word family
- peroneal adjective
- relating to the fibula or outer side of the lower leg
- peroneus noun
- one of the muscles on the outer side of the lower leg
- venous adjective
- relating to veins
- thrombosis noun
- formation of a blood clot in a vessel
Commonly confused: peroneal vein or peroneal artery?
peroneal vein vs peroneal artery
The peroneal artery carries blood down to the lower leg, while the peroneal vein carries blood back toward the heart.
Practice
Which statement about the peroneal vein is correct?
Choose one answer.
Veins return blood to the heart, and the peroneal vein is a deep vein of the lower leg. The other options describe arteries, arm bones or superficial veins.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “peroneal vein”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.