Left colic vein

Vena colica sinistra

Definition

Antoine Micheau

In carnivores, the left colic vein is the continuation of the cranial rectal vein in the descending mesocolon. It collects approximately 25 left colic branches, which are satellites of the vasa recta of the left colic artery. Some of these may be double. The last tributary to enter the left colic vein is larger than the others, as it collects blood from the left colic flexure as well as from the adjacent middle and left parts of the colon. Its middle colic tributary anastomoses in an arcade with the middle colic vein.

At the left colic flexure, the left colic vein becomes the caudal mesenteric vein that enters the mesojejunum, in which it crosses the left face of the cranial mesenteric artery and associated structures. It joins the cranial mesenteric vein to the right of the left lobe of the pancreas to contribute to the portal vein.

References

Evans HE, de Lahunta A. Miller’s Anatomy of the Dog. 5th ed. St. Louis: Elsevier; 2020.

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