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Noticeable Vein Across The Rib Cage With Soreness Over The Area. Cause?
On my right side, it feels like there is a vein (maybe the diameter of a large earth worm ) that runs across the type of my rib cage. It appears to start between the 3rd/4th rib from the bottom. I noticed soreness on that side when I d wake up in the morning last week. Over the weekend I started to notice the vein. I have no answer but have the same thing going on and was looking for answers. Have you heard anything since you wrote this?? I have no history of breast cancer or trauma.
Wed, 17 Jul 2013
Dear patient,
By the anatomical location described, it could be indeed a prominent thoracoepigastric vein, a superficial vein that connects the veins from the upper and lower extremity of the same side; they can be seen or palpated in normal, thin people of fair skin; in patients with portal hypertension, for example cirrhosis, these can become prominent but are not the only enlarged veins.
Yours truly,
Dr Brenes-Salazar MD
Cardiology
Mayo Clinic MN
By the anatomical location described, it could be indeed a prominent thoracoepigastric vein, a superficial vein that connects the veins from the upper and lower extremity of the same side; they can be seen or palpated in normal, thin people of fair skin; in patients with portal hypertension, for example cirrhosis, these can become prominent but are not the only enlarged veins.
Yours truly,
Dr Brenes-Salazar MD
Cardiology
Mayo Clinic MN
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