Anomalous pulmonary venous drainage.

Cases of drainage of the pulmonary veins into the right side of the heart have been well summarized by Brody (1942). He reported 38 cases of complete, and 68 cases of partial, drainage of the pulmonary veins into the right atrium or its tributaries. The purpose of this paper is to record a further case, and to summarize the cases not reported by Brody and those which have been reported during the last 10 years. With the development of thoracic surgery, angiocardiography, and cardiac catheterization during recent years these cases now have some clinical importance apart from their anatomical interest. CASE REPORT The cadaver was that of a muscular man aged 66. The heart was large but within normal limits considering the degree of muscular development. The interatrial septum was closed, and there were no cardiac abnormalities. An upper, larger, and a lower, smaller, pulmonary vein arose from the anterior part of the upper lobe of the right lung. These two veins joined into a very short, broad common trunk which opened into the superior vena cava, inferior and anterior to the opening of the azygos vein (Fig. 1). A large, lower, right pulmonary vein passed into the left atrium, and the drainage of the left lung was normal. The cause of death was not known, but there was no evidence that it was due to any cardiac or respiratory disease.