Tendon of Todaro
| Tendon of Todaro | |
|---|---|
| Details | |
| Synonyms | tendon of inferior pyramidal space, tendon of valve of inferior vena cava |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | tendo spatii pyramidalis inferioris (TA2) tendo valvulae venae cavae inferioris (TA98) |
| TA2 | 3981 |
| Anatomical terminology | |
The tendon of Todaro is part of the fibrous skeleton of the heart, located in the right atrium. It was described by Italian anatomist Francesco Todaro. It is a continuation of the Eustachian valve of the inferior vena cava and the Thebesian valve of the coronary sinus.
It delimits the antero-superior boundary of the triangle of Koch. The apex of Koch's triangle is the location of the atrioventricular node.[1]
The tendon is near-impossible to locate in a living heart, so clinicians use other features to determine the boundaries of the Koch's triangle.[2] Some cardiologists even go as far as rejecting the usefulness of the tendom as an anatomical landmark altogether.[3]
References
- ^ McGuire, Mark A.; Johnson, David C.; Robotin, Monica; Richards, David A.; Uther, John B.; Ross, David L. (1992-09-15). "Dimensions of the triangle of Koch in humans". The American Journal of Cardiology. 70 (7): 829–830. doi:10.1016/0002-9149(92)90574-I. ISSN 0002-9149. PMID 1519544.
- ^ Yen Ho & Anderson 2000.
- ^ James 1999.
Sources
- James, Thomas N. (1999). "The Tendons of Todaro and the "Triangle of Koch":: Lessons from Eponymous Hagiolatry". Journal of Cardiovascular Electrophysiology. 10 (11): 1478–1496. doi:10.1111/j.1540-8167.1999.tb00207.x. ISSN 1045-3873. PMID 10571368. Retrieved 2025-05-13.
Todaro tendons are too often absent (or multiple) to warrant use as anatomic landmarks
- Yen Ho, Siew; Anderson, Robert H. (2000). "How Constant Anatomically is the Tendon of Todaro as a Marker for the Triangle of Koch?". Journal of Cardiovascular Electrophysiology. 11 (1): 83–89. doi:10.1111/j.1540-8167.2000.tb00741.x. ISSN 1045-3873. PMID 10695467. Retrieved 2025-05-13.
the tendon of Todaro is not visible in the operating room or in the catheterization laboratory. Instead, clinicians use as surrogate a projected line between the eustachian valve and the central fibrous body