Human Anatomy: Part 2 - K. A. Dyubenko, A. K. Kolomiytsev, Yu. B. Chaykovsky 2008

Special Part
Cardiovascular System, systema cardiovasculare – Venous System
Veins of the Systemic Circulation – Inferior Vena Cava System

The INFERIOR VENA CAVA, v.cava inferior (Fig. 73), is the largest vein in The Human Body. It is formed at the level of the 5th–4th lumbar vertebrae by the convergence of the two common iliac Veins, vv.iliacae communes dextra et sinistra. Situated retroperitoneally on the anterolateral surface of THE Vertebral Column, the inferior vena cava ascends to the right of the aorta. At the level of the renal hilum, the right renal artery passes posterior to the inferior vena cava, while slightly higher up, the vessel is crossed by the descending part of the duodenum, the HEAD of the Pancreas, and the portal vein of the Liver. Further superiorly, it runs adjacent to the lumbar part of the Diaphragm, occupies the sulcus venae cavae on the posterior surface of the liver, and, after passing through the caval opening (foramen venae cavae) of the diaphragm, enters the thoracic cavity to empty into the right atrium.

The inferior vena cava receives two groups of tributaries: parietal veins and visceral veins.

Parietal veins:

1. Lumbar veins, vv.lumbales, occurring in four pairs, run superior to the lumbar Arteries. They anastomose with each other via the ascending lumbar veins (vv.lumbales ascendentes) and drain venous Blood from the vertebral venous plexuses through the spinal branches (rr.spinales);

2. Inferior phrenic veins, vv.phrenicae inferiores, which run in pairs accompanying the Arteries of the same name.

Visceral veins:

1. Testicular vein, v.testicularis, (in females, the ovarian vein, v.ovarica), originates from the Testis through numerous branches that form the pampiniform plexus, plexus pampiniformis*, within the Spermatic Cord. Emerging from the Inguinal Canal into the Abdominal cavity, the VEINS OF THE pampiniform plexus converge to form the v.testicularis, which drains into the inferior vena cava on the right side and into the left renal vein on the left;

2. Renal vein, v.renalis, a paired vessel that runs horizontally anterior to the renal artery and empties into the inferior vena cava at the level of the second lumbar vertebra;

3. Suprarenal (adrenal) vein, v.suprarenalis, a paired vessel emerging from the hilum of the suprarenal gland, with the right draining into the inferior vena cava and the left into the left renal vein;

4. Hepatic veins, vv.hepaticae, drain blood from the liver. They emerge on the posterior surface of the liver as 3 to 4 main trunks and empty into the inferior vena cava where it lies adjacent to the liver.