The IVC gets its name from its structure and location.
Anatomy
The IVC is formed by the merging of the right and left commoniliacveins.
These veins come together in the abdomen, carrying blood from the lower limbs.
Steve Debenport / Getty Images
How big is the inferior vena cava?
The IVC is one of the largest veins in the body, carrying a large volume of blood.
It is about four inches long and almost 1 inch in diameter.
Other veins that enter the IVC include the hepatic veins, inferior phrenic veins, and lumbar vertebral veins.
Symptoms, when they do occur, can include vague low back or abdominal pain.
This describes a sequence of signs and symptoms resulting from obstruction or compression of the IVC.
Summary
The inferior vena cava is one of two parts that make up the vena cava.
Conditions involving the IVC usually involve an obstruction or compression sparked by an underlying condition or defect.
Abdom Radiol (NY).
Int J Organ Transplant Med.
2016;7(4):229-232.
2017;29(2):51-53.
Lawrensia S, Khan YS.Inferior Vena Cava Syndrome.
[Updated 2023 May 20].
In: StatPearls [Internet].
Obesity (Silver Spring).
2021;38(2):238-248. doi: 10.1111/echo.14970
Inferior Vena Cava.
Inferior Vena Cava Filter Placement and Removal.
- Tucker, William D. Burns, Bracken.Anatomy, Abdomen and Pelvis, Inferior Vena Cava.
Treasure Island, FL: StatPearls Publishing; 2019.
