[Fibrinolytic activity of the vein wall]

The author reviews this classically held opinion, that the older sclerosants cause coagulation of the blood, while the newer sclerosants bring about an endothelial change which itself generates a thrombus. He attempts to analyse the clotting activity of the vein wall before and after the sclerosant injection. The first series of experiments gave the impression that the walls of veins subjected to a sclerosant injection had an increased fibrinolytic activity, in comparison with untreated veins. It was noted that this increase in activity was not permanent but transient. Further studies have shown that this interpretation may be premature, since there are several possible sources of error. A new series of experiments is in progress, and it would be premature to draw conclusions.