- Source: Lateral thoracic vein
The lateral thoracic vein (sometimes debatably referred to as the long thoracic vein) is a tributary of the axillary vein. It runs with the lateral thoracic artery and drains the serratus anterior muscle and the pectoralis major muscle.
Normally, the thoracoepigastric vein exists between this vein and superficial epigastric vein (a tributary of femoral vein), to act as a shunt for blood if the portal system (through the liver) develops hypertension or a blockage.
External links
Atlas image: abdo_wall76 at the University of Michigan Health System - "Venous Drainage of the Anterior Abdominal Wall"