Three cases of the persistence of the left superior vena cava

Each of the cases of persistent left superior vena cava about to be described is of special interest from the fact that each presents an interesting and somewhat rare condition of the relations of the left superior vena cava to the other venous systems and to the heart. In the first case there is a persistence of the primitive venous system-the cardinal veins-without an apparent attempt at the metamorphosis to the adult condition. In the second case the left superior vena cava not only has the usual origin, course, and termination of this vein but also communicates by a large oval foramen with the left atrium. The left superior vena cava in case three terminates in the left superior pulmonary vein. Upon reviewing the literature for the reported cases of double superior vena cava the writer has had the opportunity to consult the excellent papers on this subject by Marshall ('50), Gruber ('64), Bauer ('96) and Ancel and Villemin ('08) from whose publications he has freely drawn for certain cited cases, for which the original account was inaccessible. The above mentioned authors have collected and reported 91 cases of persistent left superior vena cava. To this number the writer will add 29 older and more recent observations. For convenience they have been placed in tabulated form.