Caput medusa

Caput medusae is the name for a cluster of swollen veins in your abdomen.

The swelling usually appears around the belly button, and the veins branch out from a central point.

They are typically painless, but they are a symptom of circulatory problems that are often related to liver diseas.

 

Which veins are dilated in caput medusae?

 

 

It is caused by dilation of the paraumbilical veins,

which carry oxygenated blood from mother to fetus in utero and normally close within one week of birth,

becoming re-canalised due to portal hypertension caused by liver failure.