Serial compression ultrasonography of the leg is a safe but inefficient method of diagnosing deep venous thrombosis (DVT). The introduction of the clinical score and the D-dimer test heralds a change in the diagnostics of DVT. It is now safe to withhold anticoagulation from patients following one single normal ultrasonography in combination with a low clinical score or a normal D-dimer concentration. Recent studies show that DVT can safely be excluded on the basis of the combination of a normal D-dimer concentration and a low clinical score alone.