Inferior Vena Cava - Drainage Patterns

Drainage Patterns

The IVC is formed by the joining of the left and right common iliac veins and brings blood into the right atrium of the heart. It also anastomoses with the azygos vein system (which runs on the right side of the vertebral column) and venous plexuses next to the spinal cord.

The caval opening is at T8. The specific levels of the tributaries are as follows:

Because the IVC is not centrally located, there are some asymmetries in drainage patterns. The gonadal veins and suprarenal veins drain into the IVC on the right side, but into the renal vein on the left side, which in turn drains into the IVC. By contrast, all the lumbar veins and hepatic veins usually drain directly into the IVC.

The tributaries of Inferior vena cava can be remembered using the mnemonic, "I Like To Rise So High", for Illiac vein (common), Lumbar vein, Testicular vein, Renal vein, Suprarenal vein and Hepatic vein.

Note that the vein that carries de-oxygenated blood from the upper half of the body is the superior vena cava.