Background:

In the distribution of the veins, it corresponds in the path and by its affluent to their arterial counterpart. For the pelvic surgeon faced with pelvic surgical pathology, the knowledge of the distribution of the venous vessels is especially important in view of novel surgical techniques and current approaches. The majority of the reports are on common iliac vein (CIV) or the inferior vena cava. To the best of our knowledge, there are no papers describing posterior extrapelvic affluents that drain into the internal iliac vein (IIV).

Objective:

The aim of this work was to describe the pattern of the constitution of the IIV in 17 dissection specimens taken at our institution.

Materials and methods:

We dissected and registered the anatomic variations of the posterior extrapelvic tributaries to the IIVs.

Results:

Moreover, we describe the presence of a vein here that is, as far as we know, the first report of a vein that is formed from the posterior extrapelvic veins that drain exactly onto the anterior surface of the CIV. We also describe herein the variants that we have found.

Conclusions:

The ignorance of the anatomic variations in the posterior extra-pelvic tributaries to the IIVs (internal iliac veins) can lead to fatal consequences in the patients undergoing pelvic surgery.