Azygos vein
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| Vein: Azygos vein | |
|---|---|
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| Superior vena cava, inferior vena cava, azygos vein and their tributaries. (Vena azygos labeled at center.) | |
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| POSTERIOR VIEW: The position and relation of the esophagus in the cervical region and in the posterior mediastinum. Seen from behind. (Azygos vein labeled at bottom left.) | |
| Latin | vena azygos |
| Gray's | subject #172 667 |
| Source | superior intercostal vein |
| Drains to | superior vena cava |
| MeSH | Azygos+Vein |
| Dorlands / Elsevier | v_05/12849551 |
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The azygos vein is a vein running up the right side of the thoracic vertebral column.
Structure
The azygos vein transports deoxygenated blood from the posterior walls of the thorax and abdomen into the superior vena cava vein. The anatomy of this blood vessel can be quite variable. In some rare variations for example, it also drains thoracic veins, bronchial veins and even gonadal veins. The vein is so named because it has no symmetrically equivalent vein on the left side of the body.
It is formed by the union of the ascending lumbar veins with the right subcostal veins at the level of the 12th thoracic vertebra, ascending in the posterior mediastinum, and arching over the root of the right lung to join the superior vena cava. This "arch of the azygos vein" (arcus venae azygou) is an important anatomic landmark.
Its tributaries, apart from its main tributary, the hemiazygos vein, are the bronchial veins, pericardial veins, and posterior right intercostal veins. It communicates with the vertebral venous plexuses.
Azygos venous system
The azygos system of veins is considered to be the azygos vein, along with its left-sided counterparts, the hemiazygos vein and the accessory hemiazygos vein. Together, they form an anastomosis between the superior vena cava to the inferior vena cava.
It can be noted that the azygos system of veins exists because the superior vena cava and the inferior vena cava are not continuous. While the aorta travels downward (continuously) through the mediastinum, supplying blood to the intercostal spaces, the vena cava does not exist at the level of the heart. Thus, the azygos venous system makes up for this deficiency of the venae cavae.
Etymology
The Greek root zyg refers to a pair. 'A-' means not. Thus, azygos means unpaired. The azygos vein is unpaired in that there is only one in the body, mostly on the right side. While there is the hemiazygos vein and its accessory on the left side of the body, they are considered tributaries of the azygos vein rather than its left-side equivalent.
Additional images
 Diagram showing completion of development of the parietal veins. |
 Transverse section of thorax, showing relations of pulmonary artery. |
 Base and diaphragmatic surface of heart. |
The venæ cavæ and azygos veins, with their tributaries. |
 The thoracic and right lymphatic ducts. |
 Mediastinal surface of right lung. |
 A young patient was involved in a trauma. A supine thoracic spine film demonstrates a rounded opacity in the right mediastinum, just superior to the right main bronchus (arrow). This opacity is a distended azygous vein, and it collapses when the patient is erect (erect chest xray). The azygous vein is a normal structure which may be distended in the supine position, right heart failure, inferior vena cava obstruction, and portosystemic shunting. |
See also
External links
- SUNY Figs 19:03-03 - "Right side of the mediastinum."
- Dissection at lumc.edu
- Radiology at umich.edu
Acknowledgement and Attribution Regarding Sources of Content
Some of the initial content on this page may be incorporated in part from copyleft sources in the public domain including wikis such as Wikipedia and AskDrWiki. Drug information for patients came from the The National Library of Medicine. Infectious disease information may have come from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Differential Diagnoses are drawn from clinicians as well as an amalgamation of 3 sources: 1.The Disease Database; 2. Kahan, Scott, Smith, Ellen G. In A Page: Signs and Symptoms. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2004:3; 3. Sailer, Christian, Wasner, Susanne. Differential Diagnosis Pocket. Hermosa Beach, CA: Borm Bruckmeir Publishing LLC, 2002:7 .
