Predisposition to chronic venous diseases is realized inter alia through the anlage of the venous system during fetal life. Review of the literature data was undertaken with a view to achieving the following goals: (1) to obtain the entire picture of limb development at the early stages of embryogenesis, (2) to shed light on the "dark sides" of venous system embryogenesis, (3) to identify priority lines of further studies in the field of interest. The embryogenesis of human lower limb venous system may be arbitrarily divided into three phases: formation of the primary venous network, formation of the deep vein system, development of multiple anastomoses eventually ensuring adequate venous drainage.