Inferior mesenteric vein
Vena mesenterica inferior
Definition
The inferior mesenteric vein returns blood from the rectum and the sigmoid, and descending parts of the colon.
The inferior mesenteric vein begins in the rectum as the superior anorectal vein, which has its origin in the hemorrhoidal plexus, and through this plexus communicates with the middle and inferior anroectal veins. The superior anorectal vein leaves the lesser pelvis and crosses the left common iliac vessels with the superior anroectal artery, and is continued upward as the inferior mesenteric vein. The inferior mesenteric vein lies to the left of the inferior mesenteric artery, and ascends behind the peritoneum and in front of the left psoas major; it then passes behind the body of the pancreas and opens into the splenic vein, or sometimes it ends in the splenomesenteric venous confluence (the angle of union of the splenic and superior mesenteric veins).
The tributaries of the inferior mesenteric vein are:
References
This definition incorporates text from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy (20th U.S. edition of Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body, published in 1918 – from http://www.bartleby.com/107/).
