In the first patient the veins were draining radially away from the periumbilical region. In normal individuals, enlarged veins do not radiate from the umbilicus. In patients with portal hypertension the portal venous pressure is increased as a result of hepatic disease. Small collateral veins develop at and around the obliterated umbilical vein. These veins pass through the umbilicus and drain onto the anterior abdominal wall, forming a portosystemic anastomosis. The eventual diagnosis for this patient was cirrhosis of the liver.