VENA CAVA

introduction

In German usage, the vena cava refers to the two largest veins in the human body. They collect the venous, deoxygenated blood from the periphery of the body and direct it back to the heart. From there it goes back to the lungs, where it is enriched with oxygen before it is pumped back into the body's circulation.

What is a vena cava?

In the case of the vena cava a distinction is made between an upper vena cava and a lower vena cava.

Superior vena cava

The superior vena cava (lat. Superior vena cava) transports the venous blood from the upper half of the body, i.e. above the diaphragm: head and neck area, both upper extremities. It arises from the union of the two brachiocephalic veins and is about five centimeters long.
Behind the right edge of the sternum (sternum) and to the right of the ascending part of the aorta (Pars ascendens aortae) it runs to the heart. There it flows into the right atrium at the level of the third costal cartilage. Before entering the pericardium, it receives an inflow through the azygos vein.

Lower vena cava

The inferior vena cava (Latin inferior vena cava) directs the blood from the lower half of the body back to the heart. It arises from the confluence of the right and left common iliac veins at the level of the fourth to fifth lumbar vertebrae. Right, along the abdominal aorta, the Pars abdominalis aortae, pulls it up in front of the spine. Through an opening in the diaphragm, the Foramen venae cavae, it passes into the chest cavity, where it also opens into the right atrium one to two centimeters above it. On its way, it receives many important inflows from the paired abdominal organs, that is, from the

Kidneys

Adrenal glands

Testicles or ovaries