Batson venous plexus
Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data
At the time the article was created Albert Asatryan had no recorded disclosures.
View Albert Asatryan's current disclosuresAt the time the article was last revised Craig Hacking had the following disclosures:
- Philips Australia, Paid speaker at Philips Spectral CT events (ongoing)
These were assessed during peer review and were determined to not be relevant to the changes that were made.
View Craig Hacking's current disclosures- Batson veins
- Batson's veins
- Batson's venous plexus
- Batson's plexus
Batson venous plexus, also known as Batson veins, are a network of paravertebral veins with no valves that connect thoracic vessels and deep pelvic veins draining the bladder, prostate, and rectum to the internal vertebral venous plexus 1. These veins are important because they are believed to provide a route for spread of cancer metastases or infections to the spine 2.
History and etymology
The plexus is named after the American surgeon and anatomist Oscar Vivian Batson (1894-1979) , who first described it in 1940 3. Several earlier descriptions of the venous plexus had been made however Batson's investigations of cadaveric venous injections and radiography solidified the importance of the venous plexus and its role in metastatic disease (especially prostatic malignancy spread from the veins to the vertebrae) 4.
References
- 1. Wiltse LL, Fonseca AS, Amster J et-al. Relationship of the dura, Hofmann's ligaments, Batson's plexus, and a fibrovascular membrane lying on the posterior surface of the vertebral bodies and attaching to the deep layer of the posterior longitudinal ligament. An anatomical, radiologic, and clinical study. Spine. 1993;18 (8): 1030-43. Pubmed citation
- 2. Batson OV. THE FUNCTION OF THE VERTEBRAL VEINS AND THEIR ROLE IN THE SPREAD OF METASTASES. Ann. Surg. 2007;112 (1): 138-49. Free text at pubmed - Pubmed citation
- 3. Nathoo N, Caris EC, Wiener JA, Mendel E. History of the vertebral venous plexus and the significant contributions of Breschet and Batson. (2011) Neurosurgery. 69 (5): 1007-14; discussion 1014. doi:10.1227/NEU.0b013e3182274865 - Pubmed
- 4. Benner D, Hendricks B, Benet A, Lawton M. Eponyms in Vascular Neurosurgery: Comprehensive Review of 18 Veins. World Neurosurg. 2021;151:190-200. doi:10.1016/j.wneu.2021.05.053 - Pubmed
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