ABSENCE OF THE INFERIOR CAVA BELOW THE DIAPHRAGM. 13 



as they have other anomalies of the abdomiual veins, the papers 

 concerning this condition have to be sorted out. It has seemed 

 to me that it would be a good work to attempt a general review 

 of the literature of the absence of the inferior cava below the 

 diaphragm. I shall give the briefest possible statement of each 

 case. In the list at the end, the cases that I have taken from 

 the original reports are marked by a star, and I state what is 

 my authority for my account of the others. I cannot hope that 

 my list is a complete one, for the work presents great difficulties. 

 My course in placing certain cases as I have is open to dis- 

 cussion, for often all the facts are not stated. In all these cases, 

 excepting those of Hyrtl, of which I know nothing, it is to be 

 understood that the hepatic veins formed an inferior cava above 

 the diaphragm. 



Geoup I. 

 Cases of persistence of both posterior cardinals. 



Three by Hyrtl. — All anencephalous foetuses, in which both 

 posterior cardinals persisted. Certain other peculiarities are 

 mentioned; but one gets no idea of the value of the cases. 



Martin. — A male child at term. There were cysts that do 

 not concern us. The anatomical description of the veins is by 

 V. Eecklinghausen. The iliac veins were very large. They 

 united on the right to form a trunk that ascended in the place 

 of the cava, receiving the right renal vein. It entered the 

 thorax as the azygos, and ended at the junction of the right 

 jugular and subclavian veins to form the superior cava, which 

 received the left iugular vein. A laree trunk ascending from 

 the left iliac received the left renal and continued into the left 

 chest, whence it issued over the first rib to end in the left sub- 

 clavian. The vessel formed by their union ran across the left 

 auricle, round the heart, to empty into the right auricle with the 

 inferior cava, which was formed solely by the hepatic veins. It 

 seems plausible to consider the vein connecting the left sub- 

 clavian with the heart as the left duct of Cuvier. Hochstetter 

 treats this case with great reserve, and ignores those of Hyrtl 

 entirely. 



