Variant Anatomy of the Pulmonary Venous Orifices and Their Clinical Significance

Abstract

Interest in the study of pulmonary veins and its ostia has considerably increased in recent times after the realization of the fact that atrial fibrillation may originate from the triggers in the pulmonary veins as they receive the extension of myocardial sleeves from left atrium. Researchers have found that the classic pattern of two ostia in the either side of the left atrium occurs in 70% of general population. The variations pulmonary venous drainage patterns are mostly congenital in origin and related to the complex development of venous system. AIM: The pulmonary venous ostia were studied with respect to their number and orientation. METHODS AND MATERIAL: The present study was carried out in the Department of Anatomy,

Study of Anatomical Variations of Number of Pulmonary Veins and its Clinical Significance

“…Various studies revealed that variant anatomy of pulmonary veins is present in 10-20% of population. [4][5][6][7][8] Anamolous pulmonary vein drainage is one of the treatable causes of pulmonary hypertension in adults. 2,3 Despite popular notion that the anatomical variations of pulmonary veins and their ostia are rare, several recent studies have emphasized their role in higher incidence of atrial arrhythmia and are reported to be more common than anticipated.…”