open access
Observations of foetal heart veins draining directly into the left and right atria
Affiliations- Department of Anatomy and Institute of Medical Sciences, Chonbuk National University Medical School, Jeonju, Korea
- Department of Anatomy, Wuxi Medical School, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China
- Division of Internal Medicine, Jikou-kai Clinic of Home Visits, Sapporo, Japan
- Department of Anatomy, Akita University School of Medicine, Akita, Japan
open access
Abstract
Evaluation of semiserial sections of 14 normal hearts from human foetuses of gestational age 25–33 weeks showed that all of these hearts contained thin veins draining directly into the atria (maximum, 10 veins per heart). Of the 75 veins in these 14 hearts, 55 emptied into the right atrium and 20 into the left atrium. These veins were not accompanied by nerves, in contrast to tributaries of the great cardiac vein, and were negative for both smooth muscle actin (SMA) and CD34. However, the epithelium and venous wall of the anterior cardiac vein, the thickest of the direct draining veins, were strongly positive for SMA and CD34, respectively. In general, developing fibres in the vascular wall were positive for CD34, while the endothelium of the arteries and veins was strongly positive for the present DAKO antibody of SMA. The small cardiac vein, a thin but permanent tributary of the terminal portion of the great cardiac vein, was also positive for SMA and CD34. A few S100 protein-positive nerves were observed along both the anterior and small cardiac veins, but no nerves accompanied the direct dra- inage veins. These findings suggested that the latter did not develop from the early epicardiac vascular plexus but from a gulfing of the intratrabecular space or sinus of the atria. However, the immunoreactivity of the anterior cardiac vein suggests that it originated from the vascular plexus, similar to tributaries of the great cardiac vein.
Abstract
Evaluation of semiserial sections of 14 normal hearts from human foetuses of gestational age 25–33 weeks showed that all of these hearts contained thin veins draining directly into the atria (maximum, 10 veins per heart). Of the 75 veins in these 14 hearts, 55 emptied into the right atrium and 20 into the left atrium. These veins were not accompanied by nerves, in contrast to tributaries of the great cardiac vein, and were negative for both smooth muscle actin (SMA) and CD34. However, the epithelium and venous wall of the anterior cardiac vein, the thickest of the direct draining veins, were strongly positive for SMA and CD34, respectively. In general, developing fibres in the vascular wall were positive for CD34, while the endothelium of the arteries and veins was strongly positive for the present DAKO antibody of SMA. The small cardiac vein, a thin but permanent tributary of the terminal portion of the great cardiac vein, was also positive for SMA and CD34. A few S100 protein-positive nerves were observed along both the anterior and small cardiac veins, but no nerves accompanied the direct dra- inage veins. These findings suggested that the latter did not develop from the early epicardiac vascular plexus but from a gulfing of the intratrabecular space or sinus of the atria. However, the immunoreactivity of the anterior cardiac vein suggests that it originated from the vascular plexus, similar to tributaries of the great cardiac vein.
Keywords
great cardiac vein; anterior cardiac vein; venae cordis minimae; smooth muscle actin; CD34; human foetuses
About this articleTitle
Observations of foetal heart veins draining directly into the left and right atria
Journal
Issue
Article type
Original article
Pages
283-289
Published online
2018-08-24
Page views
2060
Article views/downloads
1173
DOI
Pubmed
Bibliographic record
Folia Morphol 2019;78(2):283-289.
Keywords
great cardiac vein
anterior cardiac vein
venae cordis minimae
smooth muscle actin
CD34
human foetuses
Authors
J.H. Kim
O.H. Chai
C.H. Song
Z.W. Jin
G. Murakami
H. Abe
References (18)- Abe Si, Suzuki M, Cho KHo, et al. CD34-positive developing vessels and other structures in human fetuses: an immunohistochemical study. Surg Radiol Anat. 2011; 33(10): 919–927.
- Chang H, Cho KHo, Hayashi S, et al. Site- and stage-dependent differences in vascular density of the human fetal brain. Childs Nerv Syst. 2014; 30(3): 399–409.
- Grant RT. Development of the cardiac coronary vessels in the rabbit. Heart. 1926; 13: 261–271.
- Grant RT, Regnier M. The comparative anatomy of the cardiac coronary vessels. Heart. 1926; 13: 285–317.
- Hayashi S, Murakami G, Ohtsuka A, et al. Connective tissue configuration in the human liver hilar region with special reference to the liver capsule and vascular sheath. J Hep Bil Pancr Surg. 2008; 15(6): 640–647.
- Katori Y, Kiyokawa H, Kawase T, et al. CD34-positive primitive vessels and other structures in human fetuses: an immunohistochemical study. Acta Otolaryngol. 2011; 131(10): 1086–1090.
- Kim JiH, Hwang SiE, Rodríguez-Vázquez JF, et al. Upper terminal of the inferior vena cava and development of the heart atriums: a study using human embryos. Anat Cell Biol. 2014; 47(4): 236–243.
- Mechanik N. Das Venensystem der Herzwände. Zeitschrift für Anatomie und Entwicklungsgeschichte. 1934; 103(6): 813–843.
- Mierzwa J, Kozielec T. Variation of the anterior cardiac veins. Folia Morphol. 1975; 34(2): 125–133.
- Miyake N, Hayashi S, Kawase T, et al. Fetal anatomy of the human carotid sheath and structures in and around it. Anat Rec (Hoboken). 2010; 293(3): 438–445.
- Naito M, Yu HC, Kim JiH, et al. Topographic anatomy of the fetal inferior vena cava, coronary sinus, and pulmonary veins: Variations in Chiari's network. Clin Anat. 2015; 28(5): 627–637.
- Ortale JR, Marquez CQ. Anatomy of the intramural venous sinuses of the right atrium and their tributaries. Surg Radiol Anat. 1998; 20(1): 23–29.
- Ortale JR, Gabriel EA, Iost C, et al. The anatomy of the coronary sinus and its tributaries. Surg Radiol Anat. 2001; 23(1): 15–21.
- Robb JS. Comparative basic cardiology. Grune & Stratton, New York. 1965: 123–140.
- Steding G, Seidl W. Cardiovaskuläres System. In Human Embryologie. Hinrichsen KV (ed). Springer, Berlin. 1990: 205–294.
- Vobořil Z, Schiebler TH. Über die Entwicklung der Gefäßversorgung des Rattenherzens. Z Anat EntwGesch. 1969; 129(1): 24–40.
- von Lüdinghausen M, Ohmachi N, Besch S, et al. Atrial veins of the human heart. Clin Anat. 1995; 8(3): 169–189.
- von Lüdinghausen M. The venous drainage of the human myocardium. Adv Anat Embryol Cell Biol. 2003; 168(I-VIII): 1–104.
