Tags: Anatomical Structure.
The valve of the inferior vena cava (Eustachian valve) lies at the junction of the inferior vena cava and right atrium. In fetal life the Eustachian valve helps direct the flow of oxygen-rich blood through the right atrium into the left atrium and away from the right ventricle. Before birth oxygen rich blood returning from the placenta mixes with blood from the hepatic veins in the inferior vena cava.
