Venae cordis minimae

Last revised by Yuranga Weerakkody on 20 Jun 2023

The venae cordis minimae (singular: vena cordis minima), meaning "smallest cardiac veins", also known as Thebesian veins (variably capitalized in the literature) are a small group of valveless myocardial coronary veins within the walls of each of the four cardiac chambers that drain venous blood directly into each of the respective chambers. They are part of the lesser cardiac venous system, are most frequently found in the right atrium and are of little physiological/pathological significance 4

History and etymology

The Thebesian veins are named after the Silesian physician Adam Christian Thebesius (1686-1732), who published groundbreaking work on the coronary circulation in the early 18th century 3. The Thebesian valve is also named after him.

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