Batson’s plexus

Batson’s plexus

A network of veins which connect the internal vertebral venous plexi with the deep pelvic veins (which drain the base of the urinary bladder and prostate) and the thoracic veins (which drain the breast). Due to its location and lack of valves, Batson’s plexus is regarded as a conduit for metastases from cancers of the rectum and prostate to the vertebral column or brain, as well as for infection. It was named after Oscar Vivian Batson, who first described it in 1940.