Variability of valve configuration in the lumen of the coronary sinus in the adult human hearts.

Described by many authors, valves refer to the coronary sinus. The best known among them are Thebesius and Vieussen valves. Information about valves in the lumen of the coronary sinus, though, is rarely found in anatomic literature. Frequency of occurrence of valves in the lumen of the coronary sinus and the degree of their formation was chartered in this paper. 150 adult human hearts of both sexes from 18 to 85 years of age were tested, fixed in a formalin/ethanol solution. Classical macroscopic anatomical methods were used. The valves in the sinus lumen were observed in 10% of the tested hearts, usually presented as incomplete single ones (7.3%).