Testicular vein
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| Vein: Testicular vein | |
|---|---|
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| Spermatic veins. | |
| Latin | vena testicularis dextra, vena testicularis sinistra, venae spermaticae |
| Gray's | subject #173 678 |
| Source | pampiniform plexus |
| Drains to | inferior vena cava, left renal vein |
| Artery | testicular artery |
| Dorlands / Elsevier |
v_04/12848708 |
The testicular vein (or spermatic vein), the male gonadal vein, carries deoxygenated blood from its corresponding testis to the inferior vena cava or one of its tributaries. It is the male equivalent of the ovarian vein, and is the venous counterpart of the testicular artery.
It is a paired vein, with one supplying each testis:
- the right testicular vein generally joins the inferior vena cava;
- the left testicular vein, unlike the right, often joins the left renal vein instead of the inferior vena cava.
The veins emerge from the back of the testis, and receive tributaries from the epididymis; they unite and form a convoluted plexus, called the pampiniform plexus, which constitutes the greater mass of the spermatic cord; the vessels composing this plexus are very numerous, and ascend along the cord, in front of the ductus deferens.
Below the subcutaneous inguinal ring, they unite to form three or four veins, which pass along the inguinal canal, and, entering the abdomen through the abdominal inguinal ring, coalesce to form two veins, which ascend on the Psoas major, behind the peritoneum, lying one on either side of the internal spermatic artery.
These unite to form a single vein, which opens, on the right side, into the inferior vena cava (at an acute angle), on the left side into the left renal vein (at a right angle).
The spermatic veins are provided with valves.
The left spermatic vein passes behind the iliac colon and is thus exposed to pressure from the contents of that part of the bowel.
[edit] Pathology
Since the left testicular vein goes all the way up to the left renal vein before it empties, this results in a higher tendency for the left testicle to develop varicocele because of the gravity working on the column of blood in this vein.
[edit] External links
- SUNY Labs 40:13-0103 - "Posterior Abdominal Wall: Tributaries to the Inferior Vena Cava"
[edit] Additional images
 Diagram showing completion of development of the parietal veins. |
 The veins of the right half of the male pelvis. |
 The relations of the viscera and large vessels of the abdomen. |
 Transverse section through the left side of the scrotum and the left testis. |
 The spermatic cord in the inguinal canal. |
This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated. Please edit the article if this is the case, and feel free to remove this notice when it is no longer relevant.
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