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Normal venous blood flow

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Illustration of normal venous blood flow

Illustration copyright 2004 by Nucleus Communications, Inc. All rights reserved. http://www.nucleusinc.com

In healthy veins, the blood flows in one direction. The valves of the vein allow blood flow in the right direction and prevent blood from flowing in the wrong direction. This keeps blood cells from collecting in the vein and forming a blood clot (called a thrombus).

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Last Updated: 09/11/2007