A skin ulcer is a type of wound that develops on the skin. A venous skin ulcer is a shallow wound that occurs when the leg veins don’t return blood back toward the heart the way they should. This is called venous insufficiency. See a picture of abnormal blood flow caused by venous insufficiency.
These ulcers usually form on the sides of the lower leg, above the ankle and below the calf. See a picture of areas affected by venous skin ulcers.
Venous skin ulcers are slow to heal and often come back if you don’t take steps to prevent them.
