Upper limb
Lateral thoracic vein
Vena thoracica lateralis
- Origin
- Formed from venous tributaries of the lateral chest wall and mammary gland
- Insertion
- Ascends along serratus anterior to terminate into the axillary vein
- Function
- Drains deoxygenated blood from the anterolateral chest wall, breast, and axillary tissues
- Innervation
- Sympathetic vasomotor fibers
- Movement & chain
- Secured along the lateral ribcage fascia
- Palpation
- Not palpable through thoracic subcutaneous tissue
- Clinical
- Connects via the thoracoepigastric vein to provide vital cavo-caval collateral bypass in vena cava obstruction (Mondor disease)
- Segmental innervation
- Thoracic venous drainage
- In clinical practice
- Carefully managed during axillary lymphadenectomy and breast reconstruction procedures
- Region in the model
- Upper limb