DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2018.v06i10.063

Pages: 3992-3995

Pulmonary veins carry oxygenated blood from the lungs to the left atrium of the heart. During early embryonic life, absorption of pulmonary venous network by the left primitive atrial chamber results in opening of four pulmonary veins which drain independently into its chamber. The extent of absorption and hence, the number of pulmonary veins which open into left atrium may vary. The present study was done on 30 fetal hearts. The left atrium of these hearts was studied from external aspect for the number of pulmonary veins draining into the left atrium and from the internal aspect for the drainage pattern. In 10 out of 30 hearts (33.3%), variationin number of pulmonary veins was observed. In the present study, the most common variation of right pulmonary veins is three veins (13.3%), and the most common variation of the left pulmonary veins is a single vein (10%). Understanding the formation, termination and relationships of the pulmonary veins is crucial for cardiologists, because they tend to be the major trigger in atrial fibrillation.