UPDATED: The eponymic [Thebesian valve], or valve of the coronary sinus is a fold of endocardial tissue situated at the exit ostium of the coronary sinus. Named after Adam Christian Thebesius, the morphology of the valve presents with anatomical variations that go from total absence (see image here) to endocardial folds that cover up to 65% of the coronary sinus opening (see image in this article). The variations of the Thebesian valve include fenestrations, cribiriform valves, and the presence of pectineal cardiac muscle.
The Thebesian valve is important because it can be an obstruction to the passage of a catheter performing retrograde cardioplegia in electrophysiological studies, catheter ablation, and percutaneous mitral valve repair.
Thanks to Dr. Karuna Katti for allowing us the use of the image in this article. The image shows the interior of the right atrium with the inferior vena cava removed to demonstrate the Thebesian valve. In this case, the Thebesian valve covers >65% of the coronary sinus ostium. A catheter is being passed from the superior vena cava into the coronary sinus ostium.
Source:"The Thebesian Valve: Gatekeeper to the Coronary Sinus" Karuna Katti and Nikhil Prakash Patil Clin Anat 25:379–385 (2012)
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IVC, inferior vena cava; SVC, superior vena cava; TV, Thebesian valve. Click on the picture for a larger image
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