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Anatomy of the vitelline vein remnant in human embryos and fetuses

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Abstract

Purpose

To demonstrate the entire course of the human vitelline vein (VV) in specimens after degeneration of the yolk sac.

Methods

Sagittal and horizontal histological sections from 8 embryos and 19 fetuses (gestational age approximately 6–12 weeks; crown-rump length 11–61 mm) were examined.

Results

Two types of VV remnants were observed: a long VV on the right superior side of the mesentery of the jejunum (VV1) and a short VV on the left inferior side of the mesentery (VV2). The VV1, observed in 12 specimens, was 20–30 microns in diameter and ran dorsally between the right liver lobe and the jejunum, subsequently merging with an initial superior mesenteric vein on the pancreatic head immediately below the superior portion of the duodenum. The VV2, observed in four specimens, passed dorsally between loops of the ileum on the left side of the mesentery of the ileum and connected to the mesentery. Many of the VVs did not originate from the umbilical cord but suddenly started in the sack of physiological herniation. At 10–12 weeks, after herniation, the VVs originated from the umbilicus and were involved by the expanding greater omentum.

Conclusions

The right-sided and left-sided VVs seemed to correspond to right and left VV remnants, respectively, and both took an upstream course outside the mesentery of the jejunum and ileum. The right VV upstream portion was likely to disappear later than the left one, but the timing of degeneration varied greatly among individuals, depending on the topographical relationship between the right liver lobe and the jejunum.

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Abbreviations

AD:

Adrenal

AO:

Aorta

D1, D2, D3 or D4:

Superior, horizontal, descending or ascending portion of the duodenum

GB:

Gall bladder

GO:

Greater omentum

HP:

Head of the pancreas

IL:

Ileum

IVC:

Inferior vena cava

JE:

Jejunum

LUA or RUA:

Left or right umbilical artery

LVV:

Left vitelline vein

PV:

Portal vein

RVV:

Right vitelline vein

SMA:

Superior mesenteric artery and its branches

ST:

Stomach

TC:

Transverse colon

UA:

Umbilical artery

UC:

Umbilical cord

UV:

Umbilical vein

VV:

Vitelline vein

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Funding

This work was supported by Wuxi Municipal Bureau on Science and Technology, N20202008, and Zhangjiagang Science and Technology Innovation Project, ZKCXY2123.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomy, Jeonbuk University School of Medicine, Jeonju, Korea

    Ji Hyun Kim

  2. Department of Anatomy, Wuxi School of Medicine, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China

    Zhe-Wu Jin

  3. Department of Anatomy, Tokyo Dental College, Tokyo, Japan

    Masahito Yamamoto, Gen Murakami & Shin-ichi Abe

  4. Division of Internal Medicine, Cupid Clinic, Iwamizawa, Japan

    Gen Murakami

  5. Department of Anatomy and Embryology, School of Medicine, Complutense University, Madrid, Spain

    José Francisco Rodríguez-Vázquez

Authors
  1. Ji Hyun Kim
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  2. Zhe-Wu Jin
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  3. Masahito Yamamoto
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  4. Gen Murakami
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  5. Shin-ichi Abe
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  6. José Francisco Rodríguez-Vázquez
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Contributions

JHK: data acquisition and writing original draft. Z-WJ: data analysis, manuscript editing, and funding acquisition. MY: data analysis and figure lettering. GM: design study, data analysis, and manuscript review. SA: draft review of the manuscript. JFR-V: data acquisition and critical revision of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Zhe-Wu Jin.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Complutense University (B08/374).

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Kim, J.H., Jin, ZW., Yamamoto, M. et al. Anatomy of the vitelline vein remnant in human embryos and fetuses. Surg Radiol Anat 44, 1219–1230 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-022-03001-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-022-03001-x

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