Imaging characteristics of persistent left cranial vena cava incidentally diagnosed with computed tomography in dogs.

Persistent left cranial vena cava (PLCVC) is an uncommon congenital thoracic venous anomaly in dogs. This study examines the clinical and CT findings of dogs diagnosed with PLCVC incidentally. In this study, complete type of PLCVC was diagnosed in 26 dogs with CT angiography. Shih tzu (17 cases) and Pekingese dogs (3 cases) were overrepresented. There was no gender predisposition, and the average age at presentation was 10.3 years. Of 26 dogs, one dog had a bridging vein connecting right and left cranial vena cavae, and another dog showed azygos vein terminating PLCVC. On the thoracic CT images in the third dog, the right cranial vena cava was absent so that right brachiocephalic vein ended to PLCVC. However, the right costocervical vein drained another vein coursing caudally to the right atrium with azygos vein. In conclusion, CT angiography is a very useful method to diagnose PLCVC and variations of related thoracic vein anomalies in dogs.