Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Accessory hemiazygos vein
Introduction
The accessory hemiazygos vein (vena azygos minor superior) is a vein on the left side of the vertebral column that generally drains the fifth through eighth intercostal spaces on the left side of the body.
Structure
Structure
The accessory hemiazygos vein varies inversely in size with the left superior intercostal vein.
It receives the posterior intercostal veins from the 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th intercostal spaces between the left superior intercostal vein and highest tributary of the hemiazygos vein; the left bronchial vein sometimes opens into it.
It either crosses the body of the eighth thoracic vertebra to join the azygos vein or ends in the hemiazygos.
When this vein is small, or altogether absent, the left superior intercostal vein may extend as low as the fifth or sixth intercostal space.
External links
External links
- Template:EMedicineDictionary
- Template:SUNYAnatomyLabs – “Mediastinum: The Azygos Vein and Posterior Intercostal Veins”
Editor-In-Chief: Template:Infobox Vein C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]