ductus thoracicus
[TA] thoracic duct: the largest lymph channel in the body, which collects lymph from the portions of the body below the diaphragm and from the left side of the body above the diaphragm; it begins in the abdomen (pars abdominalis) at the junction of the intestinal, lumbar, and descending intercostal trunks (which consists of a plexus or the cisterna chyli) at about the level of the second lumbar vertebra, enters the thorax through the aortic hiatus of the diaphragm (pars thoracica), ascends to cross the posterior mediastinum, and enters the neck (pars cervicalis), where it forms a downward arch (arcus ductus thoracici) across the subclavian artery, and ends at the junction of the subclavian and internal jugular veins. Called also duct of Pecquet, left lymphatic duct, and van Hoorne canal.
Medical dictionary.
2011.