Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 14, 2026

Three-Dimensional Echocardiographic Method for the Visualization and Assessment of Specific Parameters of the Pulmonary Veins
Published on: October 28, 2020
Decompressing vein and bilateral superior venae cavae in a patient with hypoplastic left heart syndrome
Katie Jo Stauffer1, Alisa Arunamata2, Shreyas S Vasanawala3
1Department of Pediatrics (Cardiology), Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, Stanford University Medical Center, Palo Alto, California. kstauffer@stanfordchildrens.org.
Abstract:
The levoatrial cardinal vein (LACV), first described in 1926, acts as a decompressing vessel for pulmonary venous return in cases of severe left-sided obstruction with an intact or significantly restrictive atrial septum. The LACV and the persistent left superior vena cava (LSVC) are thought to share similar embryologic origins. To challenge this notion, we present a unique case of a neonate with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, cor triatriatum, and a decompressing LACV in the presence of bilateral superior venae cavae.
More Related Videos
06:02Anatomical Reconstructions of the Human Cardiac Venous System using Contrast-computed Tomography of Perfusion-fixed Specimens
Published on: April 18, 2013
08:34Left Atrial Stenosis Induced Pulmonary Venous Arterialization and Group 2 Pulmonary Hypertension in Rat
Published on: November 18, 2018
Related Concept Videos
Overview of Systemic Veins
The coronary sinus, the heart's principal vein, resides in the coronary sulcus on the heart's posterior aspect. This broad venous channel receives nearly all venous blood from the myocardium, the heart muscle. It is fed by three primary veins: the great cardiac vein, the...
Overview of Systemic Arteries
Systemic circulation is the part of the cardiovascular system that carries oxygenated blood away from the heart to the body's tissues and returns deoxygenated blood back to the...
Veins of Thorax
The azygos vein, positioned just right of the midline and anterior to the vertebral column, begins at the junction of the right ascending lumbar and subcostal veins, terminating in the superior vena cava. This vein drains blood from the right side of the thoracic wall, thoracic viscera, and posterior abdominal wall.
The...
Venous Thrombosis II: Clinical Manifestations and Diagnostic Studies
Veins of the Abdomen and Pelvis
The inferior vena cava is fed by numerous smaller veins. The lumbar veins, for instance, drain the posterior abdominal wall, emptying both directly into the inferior vena cava and into the...
Cardiac Catheterization II: Right Heart Catheterization