What are collateral veins?

collateral veins are produced by your body when it thinks it is not getting sufficient circulation from a part of the body. If a part of your body is not returning blood back to the heart from a particular part of the body, your body will grow veins around that area to assisst in circulating the blood. Unfortunately these veins are usually thinner and less organized than the original venous structures. Spider veins are examples of collateral veins. There are collateral arteries as well. When a part of the body is not receiving enough oxygen new arteries will grow around to assisst in circulation. Like veins these are of poor structural quality too.