Abstract
Imaging description A persistent left superior vena cava (PLSVC) is present in 0.3% of a healthy population and approximately 4.4% of patients with congenital heart disease [1]. A left brachiocephalic vein is either very small or absent in 65% of patients with PLSVC [2]. In approximately 10% of cases with a PLSVC, the right SVC will be absent. The CT imaging of a PLSVC is the same in all cases [2, 3], but the presence of the left brachiocephalic vein and right SVC will be variable. A PLSVC is seen as a tubular structure running along the left side of the mediastinum from the region of the origin of the left brachiocephalic vein inferiorly. In approximately 90% of cases, the PLSVC will drain into the coronary sinus (Figures 58.1–58.3). In the other 10%, the PLSVC will drain into the left atrium (Figure 58.4). Absence of the left brachiocephalic vein results in the left upper body veins draining by way of the PLSVC.
Original language | English (US) |
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Title of host publication | Pearls and Pitfalls in Thoracic Imaging |
Subtitle of host publication | Variants and Other Difficult Diagnoses |
Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
Pages | 154-157 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Volume | 9780521119078 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9780511977701 |
ISBN (Print) | 9780521119078 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 1 2011 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Medicine