Open AccessRelationship in the chick of the developing pulmonary vein to the embryonic systemic venous sinus
Author(s) -
Webb Sandra,
Brown Nigel A.,
Anderson Robert H.,
Richardson Michael K.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
the anatomical record
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1097-0185
pISSN - 0003-276X
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0185(20000501)259:1<67::aid-ar8>3.0.co;2-5
Subject(s) - pulmonary vein , sinus venosus , anatomy , heterotaxy , vein , circulatory system , sinus (botany) , atrium (architecture) , left atrium , azygos vein , venous blood , left pulmonary vein , medicine , biology , cardiology , heart disease , ablation , botany , genus , atrial fibrillation
Previous studies have shown that the relationship of the systemic venous sinus (sinus venosus) to the developing pulmonary vein are very similar in mice, rats, and man, with the pulmonary vein gaining access to the heart through a persisting segment of the dorsal mesocardium. It has been suggested that this process differs in avian development, with the pulmonary vein being connected to the systemic venous sinus with subsequent transfer to the left atrium. Here we have investigated the anatomical sequence of events in the chick, using serial histological sections and microdissection followed by scanning electron microscopy. We examined a temporal series of chick embryos, ranging from Hamburger and Hamilton stage 15 to stage 30. Although there are some differences in detail, the development of the pulmonary venous connections in the chick was found to be directly comparable to that already described in eutherian mammals. In both mammals and the chick, the dorsal mesocardial connection, which connects the primitive atrium to the posterior thoracic wall, forms a fixed point through which the pulmonary vein gains access to the atrial compartment of the heart, only varying if the connection itself is anomalous. The tributaries of the systemic venous sinus and the primary atrial septal structures develop around the dorsal connection. Anat Rec 259:67–75, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.