Posterior intercostal veins
blood vessels
The posterior intercostal veins are veins that drain the intercostal spaces posteriorly. They run with their corresponding posterior intercostal artery on the underside of the rib, the vein superior to the artery. Each vein also gives off a dorsal branch that drains blood from the muscles of the back.
There are eleven posterior intercostal veins on each side. Their patterns are variable, but they are commonly arranged as:
The 1st posterior intercostal vein, supreme intercostal vein, drains into the brachiocephalic vein or the vertebral vein.
The 2nd and 3rd (and often 4th) posterior intercostal veins drain into the superior intercostal vein.
The remaining posterior intercostal veins drain into the azygos vein on the right, or the hemiazygos and accessory hemiazygos vein on the left.
References
External links
thoraxlesson5 at The Anatomy Lesson by Wesley Norman (Georgetown University) (paravertebralregion)
"Anatomy photo:21:15-0101". SUNY Downstate Medical Center. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Posterior intercostal veins” is blood vessels. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Posterior, intercostal and veins, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “blood vessels” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 23, 2024. The linked authority identifier is Q7234203. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2016.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Posterior intercostal veins”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Posterior intercostal veins primary sources, Posterior intercostal veins archive and Posterior research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Posterior intercostal veins”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Posterior intercostal veins” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.