superior/inferior vena cava = anterior/posterior vena cava?

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MUN2005

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Has anybody every heard the superior/inferior vena cava being called the anterior/posterior vena cava? For a biology course I am doing we were taught it as anterior/posterior, and I thought that was tottaly incorrect!?!?! Can somebody please clarify this? Thanks.

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As far as I know they're the same.
Superior = anterior
Inferior = posterior
 
I don't think you can call them anterior and posterior. Because that would imply that one was in from of the other, where in fact one is above the other, hence superior and inferior.
 
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I would like to comment on the last post, The Superior/anterior is on the anterior side of the heart and the inferior/posterior is on the back, so it makes sence. I say, do what the prof wants and then make fun of them behind their back.
 
As far as I know, referring to the anterior/posterior vena cava is totally incorrect, unless:

1) it is in reference to a specific point on the ant. or post. wall of the vena cava

or 2) it is in reference to developmental biology. In embryology (ONLY), anterior = superior, and posterior = inferior, due to the orientation of the embryo.

If the reference is not for one of these reasons, anterior/posterior vena cava is wrong.

Hope this helps,

doepug
MS III, Johns Hopkins
 
the way your etacher is teaching it is fine , I took anatomy and you can definitly refer to those veins in that way since they dont attach exactly in a medial line. One is farther back then the other thus being able to name thenm anterior and posterior.good luck
 
I'm guessing you heard this in a lab. You use anterior/posterior for quadrapeds and superior/inferior for bipeds. It is not proper to interchange them with respect to the same animal.
 
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