Tendon of Todaro

Tendon of Todaro
Tendon of Todaro
Details
Synonyms	tendon of inferior pyramidal space, tendon of valve of inferior vena cava
Identifiers
Latin	tendo spatii pyramidalis inferioris (TA2); tendo valvulae venae cavae inferioris (TA98)
TA2	3981
	Anatomical terminology [ edit on Wikidata]

Last updated September 11, 2025

The tendon of Todaro is part of the fibrous skeleton of the heart, located in the right atrium. It was described^{[ citation needed ]} by Italian anatomist Francesco Todaro. It is a continuation of the Eustachian valve of the inferior vena cava and the Thebesian valve of the coronary sinus.

It delimits the antero-superior boundary of the triangle of Koch. The apex of Koch's triangle is the location of the atrioventricular node.^[1]

The tendon is near-impossible to locate in a living heart, so clinicians use other features to determine the boundaries of the Koch's triangle.^[2] Some cardiologists even go as far as rejecting the usefulness of the tendom as an anatomical landmark altogether.^[3]

References

↑ McGuire, Mark A.; Johnson, David C.; Robotin, Monica; Richards, David A.; Uther, John B.; Ross, David L. (1992-09-15). "Dimensions of the triangle of Koch in humans" . The American Journal of Cardiology. 70 (7): 829–830. doi:10.1016/0002-9149(92)90574-I. ISSN 0002-9149. PMID 1519544.
↑ Yen Ho & Anderson 2000.
↑ James 1999.

Sources

James, Thomas N. (1999). "The Tendons of Todaro and the "Triangle of Koch":: Lessons from Eponymous Hagiolatry" . Journal of Cardiovascular Electrophysiology. 10 (11): 1478–1496. doi:10.1111/j.1540-8167.1999.tb00207.x. ISSN 1045-3873. PMID 10571368 . Retrieved 2025-05-13. Todaro tendons are too often absent (or multiple) to warrant use as anatomic landmarks
Yen Ho, Siew; Anderson, Robert H. (2000). "How Constant Anatomically is the Tendon of Todaro as a Marker for the Triangle of Koch?" . Journal of Cardiovascular Electrophysiology. 11 (1): 83–89. doi:10.1111/j.1540-8167.2000.tb00741.x. ISSN 1045-3873. PMID 10695467 . Retrieved 2025-05-13. the tendon of Todaro is not visible in the operating room or in the catheterization laboratory. Instead, clinicians use as surrogate a projected line between the eustachian valve and the central fibrous body

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[1] McGuire, Mark A.; Johnson, David C.; Robotin, Monica; Richards, David A.; Uther, John B.; Ross, David L. (1992-09-15). "Dimensions of the triangle of Koch in humans" . The American Journal of Cardiology. 70 (7): 829–830. doi:10.1016/0002-9149(92)90574-I. ISSN 0002-9149. PMID 1519544.

[FOOTNOTEYen_HoAnderson2000-2] Yen Ho & Anderson 2000.

[FOOTNOTEJames1999-3] James 1999.

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