Endoscopic study of the morphology of Vieussens valve.

Vieussens valve (Vv) is the ostial valve of the great cardiac vein located near the beginning of the coronary sinus. Knowledge of its anatomy is important for several trans-sinus cardiologic procedures. The frequency of its presence is reported to vary from 65-87%. We documented the post mortem morphology of Vieussens valve in 50 unfixed, intact human coronary sinuses using endoscopy. We believe this is the first study of the anatomy of the coronary sinus and the adjacent venous ostia to employ this technique. Vieussens valve was observed in 78% of specimens. Special attention was given to the shape of the valve leaflets. Five morphological types of Vv were distinguished: single leaflet, flat (16%); single leaflet, concave (20%); double leaflet, flat (8%); double leaflet, concave (32%); and triple leaflet, concave (2%). We found post mortem endoscopy of the coronary sinus to be a good and reliable method of visualizing Vieussens valve. Copyright 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.