[Spinal claudication following ileocaval venous thrombosis].

The case is reported of a young male who presented with intermittent claudication after thrombosis of the right common femoral, iliac and caval vein. The symptoms were explained by the severe proximal venous obstruction. The patient, however, also complained of lumbar pain during and long after walking, and showed signs of irritation of nerve roots L4 to S1 on the right side. Venography and CT-scan disclosed venous collateral circulation leading through the spinal canal. The blood drained through the foramina intervertebralia to the caval vein, causing compression of the nerve roots depending on their filling. Thus, the claudication was "venous" in two ways, muscular (due to inadequate drainage) and spinal (due to intermittent compression of lumbar nerve roots by the collateral circulation).