MORPHOLOGICAL CRITERIA OF SEGMENTATION OF THE VERTEBRAL VENOUS BED AND ITS INTERRELATION WITH SYSTEMIC VEINS

Segmentation of the vertebral venous bed and its interrelation with other venous vessels were investigated on 100 human corpses (including those of 25 embryos and fetuses of 4 weeks and older, 15 newborn infants and children and 60 adults aged up to 90 years) using anatomic and histological methods. Te vertebral venous bed was found to be a complicated formation of venous vessels, that was formed around the spinal cord during the ontogenesis. It was demonstrated that the venous bed of an individual vertebra contained five orders of intra- and extra-vertebral veins: intraosseous veins, veins of the vertebral canal, anastomotic veins, veins of the external vertebral plexus and veins of lateral longitudinal tracts. Venous segments of the individual vertebrae formed segments of higher order, and each of them is was connected with the veins of a certain body area, certain organs and certain venous tracts. Two forms of segmentation of the vertebral venous bed - metameric and longitudinal are described. Morphological criterion of segmentation is the genetic principle of metamerism which determines the areas of outflow of venous blood, the number of vessels, their diameter, presence of valves and relationship with surrounding connective tissue structures.

vertebral venous plexus, segmentation, vertebral venous bed, porto-caval anastomoses, cava-caval anastomoses