Expansion
Great, middle and small cardiac veins, posterior vein of the left ventricle and the oblique vein of the left atrium
Expansion
Running in the posterior atrioventricular groove, the coronary sinus receives:
- Great cardiac vein - accompanies the left anterior descending artery
- Middle cardiac vein - accompanies the posterior descending artery
- Small cardiac vein - accompanies the right marginal artery
- Posterior vein of the left ventricle
- Oblique vein of the left atrium (of Marshall)
Roughly three-quarters of the venous return of the heart passes this way. The remainder drains directly into the chambers through the anterior cardiac veins and the tiny thebesian veins, which is a small source of physiological shunt.