Where a vein surfaces tells you where its pressure comes from. Ordinary leg varicose veins can be explained by leg valves alone — but veins on the vulva, inner thighs or buttocks sit in territory that drains from the pelvis. When they appear, they're usually "escape routes": pressurised blood from refluxing pelvic veins finding its way out through connection points in the groin and perineum.
That makes this one of the strongest visible signs in the whole check — an outward map of an inward problem. It's also one many women have never shown a doctor, out of embarrassment or because no one asked. We ask so it counts.
If you answered yes: mention these veins explicitly at any vein assessment and ask whether your imaging will include the pelvic veins — the full story is in leg veins that start in the pelvis. If they first appeared in pregnancy, that history matters too.