Chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) is a medical condition in which blood pools in the veins, straining the walls of the vein. The most common cause of CVI is superficial venous reflux which is a treatable condition. As functional venous valves are required to provide for efficient blood return from the lower extremities, this condition typically affects the legs. If the impaired vein function causes significant symptoms, such as swelling and ulcer formation, it is referred to as chronic venous disease. It is sometimes called chronic peripheral venous insufficiency and should not be confused with post-thrombotic syndrome in which the deep veins have been damaged by previous deep vein thrombosis. Most cases of CVI can be improved with treatments to the superficial venous system or stenting the deep system. Varicose veins for example can now be treated by local anesthetic endovenous surgery. Rates of CVI are higher in women than in men. Other risk factors include genetics, smoking, obesity, pregnancy, and prolonged standing. Signs and symptoms
Signs and symptoms of CVI in the leg include the following:

Varicose veins
Itching (pruritus)
Hyperpigmentation
Phlebetic lymphedema
Chronic swelling of the legs and ankles
Venous ulcerationCVI in the leg may cause the following:

Venous stasis
Ulcers
Stasis dermatitis, also known as varicose eczema
Contact dermatitis, a disrupted epidermal barrier due to venous insufficiency, making patients more susceptible than the general population to contact sensitization and subsequent dermatitis. Atrophie blanche, an end point of a variety of conditions that appears as atrophic plaques of ivory white skin with telangiectasias.
Starting in the 1950s, ethinylestradiol became widely used in birth control pills. Estradiol-containing birth control pills were initially studied in the 1970s, with the first report published in 1977. Development of birth control pills containing estradiol was motivated by the thrombotic risks of ethinylestradiol that were uncovered in the 1960s and 1970s. More than 15 attempts were made at development of an estradiol-containing birth control pill starting in the 1970s, but were unsuccessful due to unacceptable menstrual bleeding patterns. Estradiol valerate/cyproterone acetate (Femilar) was introduced for use as a birth control pill in Finland in 1993, but was never marketed elsewhere. Subsequently, estradiol valerate/dienogest (Natazia, Qlaira) was marketed as a birth control pill in 2008 and estradiol/nomegestrol acetate (Naemis, Zoely) was introduced in 2012. Society and culture
Generic names
Estradiol is the generic name of estradiol in American English and its INN, USAN, USP, BAN, DCF, and JAN. Estradiolo is the name of estradiol in Italian and the DCIT and estradiolum is its name in Latin, whereas its name remains unchanged as estradiol in Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German. Oestradiol was the former BAN of estradiol and its name in British English, but the spelling was eventually changed to estradiol. When estradiol is provided in its hemihydrate form, its INN is estradiol hemihydrate. Brand names
Estradiol is marketed under a large number of brand names throughout the world.