Rofo. 1975 Jan;122(1):1-5.
The postion of the thoracic duct and its relationship to the spine was examined during the course of 100 autopsies on subjects aged 48 to 95 years. Four variants in its position and two variants in shape were found, with a percentage incidence of left-sided 36%, mid-line 20%, oblique 17%, rightsided 6%, bowed 14%, angulated 7M. The midline, oblique and right-sided positions are variants related to age or consitution, left-sided postion is regarded as related to age. The variations in shape are regarded as pathological changes due to displacement of the aorta.
