Research reveals the sympathoadrenal vasculature is crucial for inferior vena cava formation in embryos, suggesting an evolved development process.
The renal segment of the inferior vena cava (IVC) exhibits marked anatomical variations. A conventional model attributes its formation to the longitudinal veins associated with the mesonephros, a transient embryonic kidney. However, such explanations do not fully account for the diversity observed in the adult anatomy. We investigated IVC development in mouse embryos using a three-dimensional reconstruction based on molecular markers. Our analysis revealed that the longitudinal mesonephric veins are rarely formed and are dispensable for renal IVC formation. Instead, we identified the vascular plexus within the sympathoadrenal region as the primary contributor to this segment. Therefore, we propose a revised model of IVC formation, highlighting the predominant role of the sympathoadrenal vasculature, and suggest an evolutionary shift in the developmental program.
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Murashima et al. (2025) studied this question.
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