Pulmonary veins
Venae pulmonales
Definition
Pulmonary veins are the blood vessels that carry oxygenated blood from the lungs to the heart, more precisely to the left atrium.
Unlike other veins in the body (which generally carry oxygen-poor blood), the pulmonary veins transport oxygen-rich blood because it has just been oxygenated in the pulmonary alveoli. They are part of the pulmonary circulation.
Their organization depends on the pulmonary lobes and may vary among domestic species, but the pulmonary veins are arranged as follows:
Pulmonary vein of the middle lobe (absent in the horse because this lobe does not exist)
Branch for the accessory lobe (in species that possess this lobe)
Pulmonary vein of the left cranial lobe (often subdivided into cranial and caudal parts in carnivores and ruminants)
References
Evans HE, de Lahunta A. Miller’s anatomy of the dog, 4th edition, Elsevier Saunders, St Louis, 2012.
König HE, Lieibich HG. Veterinary Anatomy of Domestic mammals, 6th edition, Schattauer, Stuttgart, 2014.
