A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Medicine, University of the Witwatersrand, for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Medicine. / Despite having been initially described more than fifty years ago, sclerotherapy of oesophageal varices has only relatively recently became regarded as one of the primary modalities both to control bleeding oesophageal varices and to prevent recurrent bleeding. Sclerotherapy, however, ts associated with numerous complications and its exact mechanism of action, particularly that pertaining to its effect on haemostasis, has to date been poorly documented. One of the problems of comparing the various trials has been the diversity of both the technique and the type and concentration of the sclerosants used. (Abbreviation abstract) / Andrew Chakane 2018