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Patterns of arterial supply to the atria were studied with respect to the coronary sinus region in 60 human hearts obtained from patients with a negative cardiac history and in 2 hearts with ECG-demonstrated coronary sinus rhythm. The atria, including the interatrial septum, were supplied by the right (40%) or left (30%) or both (30%) sinuatrial arteries which, however, did not reach as far as the posterior margin of the oval fossa and the coronary sinus. The region of the coronary sinus with the Eustachian ridge received direct branches from the trunk of the right (41%) or left (11%) coronary artery or both (48%) in the adjacent part of the coronary sulcus. Possible development of the 'coronary sinus rhythm' on the basis of multifocal damage of the sinuatrial arteries is discussed.

The lymphatic and venous bed was evaluated in 42 human heart papillary muscles. The lymphatics form networks in the superficial and deep layers of the subendocardium and in the myocardium of the papillary muscles. In the apical area, the subendocardial lymphatics gradually merge with the fine myocardial, developing arcades at the origins of chordae tendineae. Thicker myocardial lymphatics leave the area passing along the connective tissue septa, often in close vicinity to the blood vessels. The injection method failed to reveal deep lymphatics in the connective tissue of chordae tendineae. Lymphovenous anastomoses were disclosed in the papillary muscle. The possible morphological pathways for lymphatic drainage of the papillary muscle are as follows: (1) the lymphatic bed subendocardial and myocardial, joining on the ventricular wall bed at the muscle base, and (2) lymphovenous anastomoses, passing along from the myocardial and subendocardial lymphatic bed into the ventricular wall veins and the sinus coronarius system, or into the thebesian veins and further directly into the heart ventricles.