RT Journal Article
T1 Umbilical cord vessels other than the umbilical arteries and vein: a histological study of midterm human fetuses
A1 Kim, Ji Hyun
A1 Hayashi, Shogo
A1 Jin, Zhe Wu
A1 Murakami, Gen
A1 Rodríguez Vázquez, José Francisco
AB At birth, the umbilical cord contains various types of thin vessels that are near and outside the umbilicus and separate from the umbilical arteries and vein. These vessels are regarded as the remnant "vitelline vessels" and are often called "umbilical vessels", although this terminology could lead to confusion with the true umbilical arteries and vein. No study has yet comprehensively examined these vessels using histological sections. Our examination of these vessels in 25 midterm fetuses (gestational age: 10-16 weeks) led to five major findings: (i) all specimens had umbilical branches of the inferior epigastric artery; (ii) 5 specimens had vitelline vein remnants; (iii) 4 specimens had a thin artery originating from the left hepatic artery that ran along the umbilical vein; (iv) 2 specimens had a so-called "para-umbilical vein" that was along the umbilical vein and reached the umbilicus; and (v) all specimens had lymphatic vessels originating from the umbilicus that ran caudally along the umbilical artery. The pelvic vein tributaries were well developed along the intra-abdominal umbilical artery, but did not reach the umbilicus. The lymphatic vessel was distinguished from the veins by an intraluminar cluster of lymphocytes attaching to the endothelium. The arterial branch in the umbilical cord did not accompany veins and lymphatic vessels, in contrast to the mother artery in the rectus abdominis. All these thin vessels seemed to be obliterated when the fibrous umbilical ring grew during late-term. The para-umbilical collateral vein in adults might develop outside the fibrous umbilical ring after birth.
PB Korean Association of Anatomists
SN 2093-3665
YR 2022
FD 2022-10-19
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/109019
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/109019
LA eng
NO Kim JH, Hayashi S, Jin ZW, Murakami G, Rodríguez-Vázquez JF. Umbilical cord vessels other than the umbilical arteries and vein: a histological study of midterm human fetuses. Anat Cell Biol. 2022 Dec 31;55(4):467-474. doi: 10.5115/acb.22.102
DS Docta Complutense
RD 30 dic 2025