A case of double inferior venae cavae

In this study, we present a case of double inferior venae cavae found among 252 Taiwanese cadavers that were dissected in the gross anatomy laboratory of Kaohsiung Medical College from 1978 to 1996. The lumbar portion of the normal inferior vena cava is embryologically formed by the persistence of the right supracardinal vein. Persistence of the left one gives rise to the left inferior vena cava and the persistence of the bilateral ones, the double inferior venae cavae. In this case, there is an anastomosis between the right and left inferior venae cavae. The anastomotic type of this anomaly seems to be more common than the non-anastomotic one.