| Abstrakt: |
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Most of the veins draining the heart commonly accompany the coronary arteries and its branches lying parallel to it in the interventricular and coronary sulci. This venous system is gaining importance nowadays, as they provide an alternate way to bypass coronary artery stenosis. It also helps in delivering the stem cells to the infarcted myocardium. The coronary venous system has more variations than the coronary arterial system. Hence this present study aims to evaluate the variations present in the Veins draining into the Coronary Sinus (CS). MATERIALS & METHODS: The present study was conducted in randomly selected 100 human cadaveric hearts from the Department of Anatomy and autopsied bodies of Department of Forensic Medicine, Thanjavur Medical College. The presence or absence of the veins draining into CS, their number and its draining pattern were noted. RESULTS: The Great Cardiac Vein (GCV) was present in all specimens. The Middle Cardiac Vein (MCV) was present in all specimens and it drained directly into the CS in 83% and in 16% it formed a common trunk with Small Cardiac Vein (SCV) and drained into CS and in 1%, the MCV drained directly into the right atrium. The SCV was present in 97% of the specimens and was absent in 3%. In one specimen, there were two SCV which drained into MCV which was unusual. The SCV drained directly into the CS in 61%, formed a common trunk with MCV and drained into CS in 16% and in 23% of specimens, SCV drained into MCV. The posterior vein of left ventricle was present in all the specimens and it was one in number in 58%, two in number in 30% and three in number in 12% of specimens. The posterior vein of left ventricle drained into the CS in 96% of specimens, into GCV in 1% of specimen, when the veins were more than one in number, it drained both into CS and GCV in 3% of specimens. The marginal vein of left ventricle was present in all the specimens and it was one in number in 97% and two in number in 3% and it drained into GCV in 86% and into CS in 14% of specimens CONCLUSION: This study showed that there are variations in the presence or absence of the tributaries of CS, variations in their number and its draining pattern which may be helpful in retrograde drug administration for ischaemic myocardium, easy accessibility to perform percutaneous epicardial mapping and pacing of ventricles and for the ablation of arrhythmogenic foci in the subepicardial region. Of the veins draining into the CS, the SCV has the greatest course and opening variability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
