Azygos

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1. any unpaired part, as the azygos vein.
2. unpaired. Called also azygous.

  • a. vein — a vein beginning in the abdomen and coursing in the dorsal mediastinum which returns blood from the thorax to the heart. The right azygos is found in most domestic animals (rarely the pig) while the left azygos is found in pigs and ruminants.

In anatomy, azygos, from the Greek άζυξ, refers to a structure that is unpaired. This is relatively unusual, as most elements of anatomy reflect bilateral symmetry. Another term for the same concept is impar.

Well-known structures incorporating this nomenclature include the azygos vein, ganglion impar, and the anatomical variant known as the azygos lobe of the lung.



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