The posterior intercostal veins are
veins that drain the
intercostal spaces posteriorly. They run with their corresponding
posterior intercostal artery on the underside of the rib, the vein superior to the artery. Each vein also gives off a dorsal branch that drains blood from the muscles of the back.
There are eleven posterior intercostal veins on each side. Their patterns are variable, but they are commonly arranged as:
* The 1st posterior intercostal vein,
supreme intercostal vein, drains into the
brachiocephalic vein or the
vertebral vein.
* The 2nd and 3rd (and often 4th) posterior intercostal veins drain into the
superior intercostal vein
The superior intercostal veins are two veins that drain the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th intercostal spaces, one vein for each side of the body.
Right superior intercostal vein
The right superior intercostal vein drains the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th posterior interc ...
.
* The remaining posterior intercostal veins drain into the
azygos vein on the right, or the
hemiazygos
The hemiazygos vein (vena azygos minor inferior) is a vein running superiorly in the lower thoracic region, just to the left side of the vertebral column.
Structure
The hemiazygos vein and the accessory hemiazygos vein, when taken together, ess ...
and
accessory hemiazygos vein on the left.
External links
* ()
* - "Mediastinum: The Sympathetic Ganglion and Sympathetic Trunk"
Veins of the torso
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