[Thoracic duct valves in man and albino rat]

The aim of this research was to determine the number, structure and position of valves along the whole length of thoracic duct in man and albino rat. The study was performed using the material obtained from 30 human corpses of men and women aged 17 to 60 years with no history of cardiovascular pathology and from 60 outbred albino rats of both sexes aged 5 to 12 months. Material was fixed in 10% neutral formalin. Anterior wall of thoracic duct was longitudinally dissected. Thoracic duct of 30 rats was stained with gallocyanin-chrome alum, in the remaining animals it was studied after its injection with blue Gerota's mass. In most cases, the valves consisted of two semilunar cusps. Thoracic duct was found to contain on the average 14.7+/-0.2 valves in man and 11.9+/-0.2 valves in rat. Most of all valves were found in the upper (anterior) 1/3 of the thoracic duct, least--in its middle part. This seems to be determined by anatomo-topographic features of the different parts of thoracic duct.