VEINS OF PELVIS AND PELVIC LIMB OF BAIKAL SEAL (PUSA SIBIRICA GMELIN, 1788)

УДК: 591.414:599.745 DOI: 10.31588/2413_4201_1883_1_265_17

Abstract

The article describes the characteristics of venous vascularization of pelvic organs and pelvic limb of Baikal seal (Pusa sibirica Gmelin, 1788). The blood from pelvis and pelvic limb is collected in a pelvic collector of Baikal seal. This collector is formed by the anastomosing internal and external iliac veins, which drain into the right and left trunks of the caudal vena cava. In addition, the parietal and visceral veins of the pelvis (cranial gluteal vein, caudal gluteal vein, obturator vein, iliolumbar vein, internal pudendal vein and rectal veins) participate in the formation of the pelvic collector, as do veins providing venous outflow from the pelvic limb (anterior tibial vein, posterior tibial vein, and saphenous vein). The caudal vein, upon entering the pelvic collector, joins with the obturator veins, forming an anastomosis above the bladder between the right and left sides of the pelvic collector. A distinctive feature of the venous vascularization of the seal's pelvic limb is the venous plexus of the tarsal joint, from which the anterior and posterior tibial veins and the saphenous vein originate. In the distal third of the leg, these veins form the venous network of the leg. Blood drains from the pelvis via the anterior and posterior tibial veins into the pelvic collector. The superficial saphenous vein is poorly developed in Baikal seal; it runs along the dorsolateral surface and joins the deep saphenous vein. The deep saphenous vein anastomoses on its dorsal surface with the epidural vein and the veins of the lumbar and pelvic collectors. These features of the venous arteries of the pelvis and pelvic limb of Baikal seal demonstrate a high degree of adaptation to an aquatic lifestyle.