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Superior phrenic vein: anatomy, location and function

A small vein draining the upper diaphragm surface. It drains the upper surface of the diaphragm.

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Highlighted in the model: Superior phrenic vein. Click any part to read about it, or switch off “Highlight topic” to see the whole body. 3D data: BodyParts3D, © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0; meshes simplified and recoloured. The model is an adult male.

Superior phrenic vein at a glance

What it is
A small vein draining the upper diaphragm surface.
Location
It accompanies the superior phrenic artery and drains into the azygos vein, or on the left into the hemiazygos vein.
Function
It drains the upper surface of the diaphragm.
Body system
Cardiovascular · single, midline structure
FMA ID
FMA78121 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)

Structures next to the superior phrenic vein

The nearest named structures in the 3D model, measured from the centre of each part:

References

  1. Foundational Model of Anatomy: Superior phrenic vein (FMA78121). EMBL-EBI Ontology Lookup Service.
  2. OpenStax. Anatomy and Physiology 2e, §20.1 Structure and Function of Blood Vessels. Rice University, 2022.
  3. Mitsuhashi N. et al. (2009). BodyParts3D: 3D structure database for anatomical concepts. Nucleic Acids Research 37, D782–D785. Data © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0.

Explore the whole body in the interactive 3D human anatomy model, or browse the A–Z list of human structures.