CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM

1 Unit 4: Blood Vessels

Part II: Venous Drainage
Dr. V Nuuyoma – Rundu campus
 OBJECTIVES
 At the end of this session, the student
should be able to:
 Describe venous drainage of the;
❖ Head and neck
❖ Upper limb
❖ Thorax
❖ Abdomen (portal circulation and inferior vena
cava)
❖ The pelvis and lower limb
 List factors that affect venous return
 List factors assisting venous return from lower
limbs 2
 VEINS
 They return blood from the tissues to the heart
 Their walls are thinner than arteries

 The veins that accompany muscular arteries are

called venae comitantes
 Many veins contain valves that prevent backflow
of blood
 Blood flows slower in veins than in arteries

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 VENOUS SYSTEM
 Venous blood from the body drains through two
large veins, superior and inferior venacavae
veins ⇒ heart
 There are other venous system that follow
alternative routes to the heart (but also drain
into the SVC and IVC.
 Those venous systems do not accompany arteries
examples, Portal system and Azygos system


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 GREAT VEINS OF THE HEART

Superior vena cava

Inferior vena cava
Coronary sinus
Pulmonary veins

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 CLASS ACTIVITY

 Describe the superior and inferior vena cava

veins.
 Differentiate between the inferior and superior
vena cava vein
 Which body part does each drains??

 How are they formed?

 Where are they formed and by which main veins?

 Page 370 and 376

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DIAGRAMS

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FACTORS AFFECTING VENOUS RETURN
 The pumping action of heart
 The thoracic pump – intra-thoracic pressure vs
venous return
 The skeletal muscle pump – contraction of
powerful skeletal muscles in lower limbs

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 VEINS OF THE HEAD AND NECK
 Blood returned by superficial and deep veins
 Superficial veins;

 Supratrochlear vein

 Supraorbital vein

 Facial vein

 Superficial temporal vein

 They unite to form external jugular vein

 It begins at the union of posterior

retromandibular vein and the posterior
auricular vein.
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VEINS OF THE FACE

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 DURAL VENOUS SINUSES

 They lie between layers of dura mater, lined by

endothelium only. Have no valves and no
muscles in their walls
 Receive venous blood from the brain, the
meninges and the bones of the skull
 CSF is also drained into some of them.

 Classification:

 Paired dural venous sinuses

 Unpaired dural venous sinuses

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DURAL VENOUS SINUSES

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CLASSIFICATION OF DURAL VENOUS
SINUSES

 Paired  Unpaired
 Cavenous sinus  The superior sagittal
sinus
 Superior petrosal
sinus  The inferior sagittal
sinus
 Inferior petrosal sinus
 The straight sinus
 Transverse sinus
 The occipital sinus
 Sigmoid sinus
 The anterior and
posterior intercavernous
sinuses 13
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VEINS OF THE NECK & UPPER LIMB
 Veins of the neck
 The anterior jugular vein
 The external jugular vein
 The internal jugular vein
 Subclavian vein
 Veins of upper limb
 1. Superficial veins – cephalic, basilic, median
cubital
 Clinical application – anatomical snuff box –
cephalic vein is formed here
 2. Deep veins – arranged as venae
commitantes 15
VEINS OF UPPER LIMB

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 VEINS OF THE THORAX
 Brachiocephalic veins
 The superior vena cava (page 370)

 The azygos system, consist of:

 The azygos vein

 The hemiazygos vein

 The accessory hemiazygos vein

 Intercostal veins

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 AZYGOS SYSTEM
 These veins run adjacent to the vertebral
column
 Receive veins from the wall of the thorax and
abdomen
 They drain into the superior venacava and can
form a detour for the blood from the inferior
vena cava
 Azygos vein in this system connects the
superior and inferior vena cava
 The characteristic features of azygos system
of veins are given on page 373
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VEINS OF THORAX

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VEINS OF THORACIC AND ABDOMEN

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 VEINS OF ABDOMEN
 Two major veins
 1. Inferior vena cava, with tributaries that
correspond to the branches of abdominal aorta
(Ashalatha & Deepa, 2015: 376)

 2. The portal vein (Hepatic portal system)

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 THE PORTAL SYSTEM
 Carry venous blood from the alimentary canal,
this contains digested substances/products of
digestion process.
 Collect blood from GIT (in abdomen), gallbladder,
pancreas and spleen
 The portal system goes to the liver and from
there to the IVC and back to the heart
 The portal vein is the main channel of the
portal system of veins
 It starts in capillaries and ends in venous
sinusoids of the liver
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 It is valveless
HOW IS PORTAL VEIN FORMED?
 Is formed by the union of the superior
mesenteric vein and the splenic vein.
 Average length is 8.5 cm
 Along with the bile duct and hepatic artery, It
ascends to the liver
 At the porta hepatis, it divides into right and
left branches and further divide into smaller
branches and end in sinusoids.
 Other branches of portal veins are gastric veins,
cystic vein and paraumbilical veins
 The portal venous blood contains products of
digestion from the intestines and products of 23
destruction of RBCs from the spleen.
 HOW IS PORTAL VEIN FORMED?
 The right branch of the portal vein receives the
cystic vein.
 The left branch receives:

• The ligamentum teres

• Paraumbilical veins (some small veins

accompanying the ligamentum teres)
• The ligamentum venosum (remnant of ductus
venosus), its extending from the left branch of
portal vein to the Inferior vena cava

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HEPATIC PORTAL SYSTEM

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VENOUS RETURN IN THE ABDOMEN

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 FURTHER READINGS
 Tributaries of the portal vein
 Communications between the portal and
systemic veins

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 APPLIED ANATOMY
 Portal obstruction may occur due to:
▪ Cirrhosis of liver
▪ Thrombosis of portal vein

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 VEINS OF LOWER LIMBS
 Classification
 1. Superficial veins
 The great saphenous vein – is the longest vein in the
body
 The small/short saphenous vein
 Deep veins – they are arranged as venae
commitantes;
 The popliteal vein
 The femoral vein
 Perforating veins – communicate the superficial
deep veins
 All veins of lower limb contain valves, help blood to
flow to the heart against gravity 31
SUPERFICIAL VEINS OF THE LOWER LIMB

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FACTORS ASSISTING VENOUS RETURN
FROM LOWER LIMB

 Calf pump or peripheral heart - contraction of

calf muscles (calf pump). This is the main factor,
also known as “peripheral heart”
 Suction action of the diaphragm during
inspiration
 Transmitted pulsations of adjacent arteries

 Presence of valves

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 APPLIED ANATOMY: VENOUS
THROMBOSIS (1)

 Definition of related concepts

 The formation of a blood clot (thrombus) is called
thrombosis
 Embolism is the blocking of a blood vessel by
any mass of material (an embolus) travelling in
the blood.
 Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT)
(Phlebothrombosis) refers to the formation of
the thrombus in the tributary of the main vein, it
gradually extends to the deep veins. Calf and
pelvis veins are commonly affected
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VENOUS THROMBOSIS (2)
 Phlebitis – inflammation of a vein
 Superficial vein thrombosis –
thrombophlebitis
 Vericose veins???

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PREDISPOSING FACTORS OF DVT
 Changes in the vessel wall, with damages to
endothelium e.g. inflammation
 Diminished rate of blood flow e.g. during or after
surgery
 Increased coagulability of blood e.g. infection or
cancer

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FETAL CIRCULATION

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FOETAL CIRCULATION –SUMMARY OF
CHANGES AT BIRTH

 Placenta– afterbirth
 Umbilical vein – ligamentum teres
 Umbilical arteries – medial
umbilical ligaments
 Ductus venosus – ligamentum
venosum
 Ductus arteriosus – ligamentum
anteriosum
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 Foramen ovale – fossa ovalis
 REFERENCES
 Ashalatha, PR & Deepa, G. 2015. Text of
Anatomy & Physiology for nurses. JayPee
Brother: New Delhi
 Waugh, A & Grant, A. 2014. Ross and Wilson
Anatomy & Physiology in health and illness.
Elsevier: Edinburgh
 Totora, G.J. & 2014 Principles of Anatomy
and Physiology

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