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A Japanese man who had veins protruding from his chest was diagnosed with a rare condition that causes swelling of the blood vessels. The 68-year-old had seen doctors complaining of swelling caused by fluid retention in the legs � and shortness of breath. He was also suffering from erythema nodosu - a condition that causes red nodules (rounded lumps) to form just below the skin surface � and had suffered from ulcers on his mouth and genitals over the past 30 years. When doctors at the National Defense Medical College in Saitama, examined him, they found varices � rough, dliated veins � of the chest and abdominal wall. Varicose veins in the legs also fall under the umbrella term of varices. These had been caused by an obstruction of the superior vena cava (SVC) � a large vein that carries blood from the body straight to the heart. It lies in the middle of the chest, behind the breast bone. Superior vena cava obstruction (SVCO) occurs when something blocks the blood from flowing along the SVC. The walls of the SVC are thin, meaning they easily become squashed. A CT scan of his chest also revealed a dilated inferior vena cava- the vein that carries blood from the lower body to the heart � and a heart condition which meant the heart is restricted from stretching and filling with blood properly. The man was eventually diagnosed with Beh�et�s disease, a rare and poorly understood condition that causes inflammation (swelling) of the blood vessels. The inflammation often occurs in the mouth and genitals, which leads to the two most common symptoms of Beh�et�s disease, as this man had: mouth and genital ulcers. The cause of Beh�et�s disease is unknown, although most experts believe that it is an autoimmune condition � where the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue. The condition tends to be more common in the Far East, Middle East and Mediterranean in countries such as as Turkey, Iran and Israel. Turkey has the highest number of cases of Beh�et�s disease. In some parts of the country around 420 people out of every 100,000 are affected by the condition, according to NHS Choices. In some countries, such as Iran, men are 20 times more likely to develop. In England, the condition only affects around 2,000 people, but men and women equally.