Peripheral venous distensibility and velocity of venous blood flow during pregnancy or during oral contraceptive therapy

Calf Blood Flow During Normal Primipregnancy

“…In the forearm the blood flow is reported as unchanged (1, 10) and increased (3,11,15,16,24,25). All these results were obtained during the latter half of pregnancy.…”

“…Earlier studies of the peripheral circulation in the legs and the arms during pregnancy gave divergent results (1, 3,10,11,15,16,20,21,24,25).…”

“…The lower leg blood flow at rest has been variously reported as unchanged (1, 10,11) and increased (15,16). In the forearm the blood flow is reported as unchanged (1, 10) and increased (3,11,15,16,24,25).…”

Review of Current Progress: Oestrogens and the Maternal Circulation

“…Pregnancy is associated with significant changes in both the histological structure of blood vessels (Danforth et al, 1964) and vascular haemodynamics (Munnell and Taylor, 1947;McCall, 1949;Burt, 1950;Assali et al, 1953;Metcalfe et al, 1955;Herbert et al, 1958;Sims and Krantz, 1958;Assali et al, 1960;McCausland et al, 1961;Spetz, 1964;Goodrich and Wood, 1964;Duncan and Ginsburg, 1968). A higher incidence of aneurysms, especially of the aorta (McKusick, 1960;Hume and Krosnick, 1963) and splenic artery (Riva et al, 1957;Furler et al, 1962), occurs in pregnant rather than in nonpregnant women of the same age.…”

“…oestradiol, oestradiol diproprionate and amniotin, given to thirteen adult rabbits, produced marked dilatation in the smallest vessels in the rabbits' ears (Reynolds and Foster, 1940). Oral contraceptive therapy also produces the same effect (Goodrich and Wood, 1964) and in addition causes stasis within the veins and increased coagulability of the blood, thus rendering the Patient more prone to thrombophlebitis (Wess- ler, 1955;Wood, 1965;Zsoter and Cronin, 1966). This resulted in a decrease in the linear velocity of venous blood flow in the calf.…”