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Case Reports
. 2017 May 23;28(3):e1-e4.
doi: 10.5830/CVJA-2016-084.

Persistent left superior vena cava

Kamil W Tyrak  1 , Jakub Holda  2 , Mateusz K Holda  2 , Mateusz Koziej  2 , Katarzyna Piatek  2 , Wieslawa Klimek-Piotrowska
Affiliations
Case Reports

Persistent left superior vena cava

Kamil W Tyrak et al. Cardiovasc J Afr. .

Abstract

Persistent left superior vena cava (PLSVC) is the most common congenital malformation of thoracic venous return and is present in 0.3 to 0.5% of individuals in the general population. This heart specimen was dissected from a 35-year-old male cadaver whose cause of death was determined as non-cardiac. The heart was examined and we found a PLSVC draining into the coronary sinus. The right superior vena cava was present with a small-diameter ostium. An anomalous pulmonary vein pattern was observed; there was a common trunk to the left superior and left inferior pulmonary veins (diameter 17.8 mm) and an additional middle right pulmonary vein (diameter 2.7 mm) with two classic right pulmonary veins. The PLSVC draining into the coronary sinus had led to its enlargement, which could have altered the cardiac haemodynamics by significantly reducing the size of the left atrium and impeding its outflow via the mitral valve.

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Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
The persistent left superior vena cava drains into the coronary sinus in this heart specimen. CS, coronary sinus; GCV, great cardiac vein; PLSVC, persistent left superior vena cava.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
View of the internal surface of the right atrium. CSO, coronary sinus ostium; EuchV, Eustachian valve; IVC, inferior vena cava.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
View of the internal surface of the ostia of the coronary sinus and its main tributaries. CSO, coronary sinus ostium; GCV, great cardiac vein; MCV, middle cardiac vein; PLSVC, persistent left superior vena cava; PVLV, posterior vein of the left ventricle.
Fig. 4.
Fig. 4.
View of the posterior and superior wall of the left atrium. CS, coronary sinus; LC, common trunk of the left superior and left inferior pulmonary veins; PLSVC, persistent left superior vena cava; RI, right inferior pulmonary vein; RM, right middle pulmonary vein; RS, right superior pulmonary vein; SVC, superior vena cava.
Fig. 5.
Fig. 5.
Measurements were performed with electronic calipers with 0.01-mm precision.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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