Vein, small saphenous

The smaller of the two saphenous veins, the principal veins that run up the leg superficially (near the surface).</P> The small saphenous vein, runs behind the outer malleolus (the protuberance on the outside of the ankle joint), comes up the back of the leg and joins the popliteal vein in the space behind the knee (the popliteal space).</P> The other saphenous vein, termed the large or great saphenous vein, goes from the foot all the way up to the saphenous opening, an oval aperture in the broad fascia of the thigh, a fibrous membrane through which the vein passes.