Esophageal porto-caval anasthomosis. Critical view of the hypothesis of F.C. Carvalho.

The apparition and the breakage of esophageal varices et the level of cardioesophageal junction in the portal hypertension still represents a problem of pathological surgery. The presence of these varicose dilatations in this region is due to an important zone of porto-caval anastomoses. Angioarhitectonical study of lower abdominal esophagus represents a disputed problem in the specialty literature. The hypothesis of south American anatomist F. C. Carvalho (1966) looks to be the best model that could explain the appear of cardioesophageal varices. Studies realized in the past within the Anatomy Department of Medicine "Carol Davila" Bucharest tried to demonstrate the validity of Carvalho's theory, and the results of these researches are exposed in the present paper.