A Case Series Cadaveric Study on Acquired and Congenital Azygos Venous System Variations

Azygos variation and clinical correlation

  • Maroutcha Mouawad OMS IV, Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, 4408 Bon Aire Dr, Monroe LA 71203, United States
  • Savannah Newell Department of Anatomical Sciences, Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, Louisiana, United States https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5959-7273
  • Colleen Cheverko Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Rush University Medical College, Chicago, Illinois, United States https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9065-1768
DOI: https://doi.org/10.61797/ijcsav.v4i2.244
Keywords: Azygos venous system, Azygos system variation, Cardiopulmonary medicine, Cadaveric study, Hemiazygos, Accessory hemiazygos

Abstract

The azygos venous system holds essential clinical relevance as it can provide collateral circulation in cases where the superior and inferior vena cava become obstructed. Additionally, it is important in imaging and mediastinal procedures because variations in this system may be confused with pathology. In this study, the azygos system of 31 embalmed anatomy donors was dissected, analyzed, and classified according to the Anson McVay system and Dahran and Saomes subclassification. Out of 31 donors, one (3.22%) donor was classified as Type I, 27 (87.09%) were Type II, two (6.45%) were Type III, and one (3.22%) was unobservable. These values closely replicated values previously reported in literature; however, four subjects exhibited variations that are rare or not previously reported in literature. In this paper, we describe those rare cases and consider their development and clinical relevance.

Author Biographies

Savannah Newell, Department of Anatomical Sciences, Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, Louisiana, United States

Discipline Chair of Anatomical Sciences at the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine Louisiana

Colleen Cheverko, Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Rush University Medical College, Chicago, Illinois, United States

Assistant Professor in Department of Anatomy and Cell biology at Rush University Medical College

Published
2023-07-27
Issue
Vol 4 No 2 (2023): Int J Cadaver Stud Ant Var
Section
Articles

Copyright (c) 2023 Maroutcha Mouawad, Savannah Newell, Colleen Cheverko

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Copyright © by the authors; licensee Research Lake International Inc., Canada. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (CC BY-NC) (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).