What is the Trendelenburg’s test?
It is a test of functionality of leg veins’ valves, first described by Sir Benjamin Brodie in 1846, almost 50
years before Trendelenburg’s report (which is why the maneuver is still referred to as the Trendelenburg-
Brodie test). To carry it out:
1. Raise the leg of a supine patient above the level of the heart, until the veins are completely empty and
collapsed.
2. Apply a tourniquet to the mid-thigh, thereby compressing the greater saphenous vein and preventing it from draining blood.
3. Ask the patient to stand up, and closely observe the leg veins. In normal subjects, the greater saphenous
vein will slowly refill from below the obstruction.
This takes less than 1 minute and is due to unimpeded arterial flow in the face of obstructed venous
drainage.
4. Release the tourniquet 60 seconds after standing.
5. Closely observe the leg veins for engorgement.
It is a test of functionality of leg veins’ valves, first described by Sir Benjamin Brodie in 1846, almost 50
years before Trendelenburg’s report (which is why the maneuver is still referred to as the Trendelenburg-
Brodie test). To carry it out:
1. Raise the leg of a supine patient above the level of the heart, until the veins are completely empty and
collapsed.
2. Apply a tourniquet to the mid-thigh, thereby compressing the greater saphenous vein and preventing it from draining blood.
3. Ask the patient to stand up, and closely observe the leg veins. In normal subjects, the greater saphenous
vein will slowly refill from below the obstruction.
This takes less than 1 minute and is due to unimpeded arterial flow in the face of obstructed venous
drainage.
4. Release the tourniquet 60 seconds after standing.
5. Closely observe the leg veins for engorgement.