[Varicose veins of the esophagus as a manifestation of left-sided portal hypertension].

An autopsy of pancreatic cancer in a woman who died from acute posthemorrhagic anemia due to repeated bleeding from esophageal varices is presented. The mechanism of development of esophageal varices associated with the so-called left-sided portal hypertension, caused by compression of the splenic vein by the tumor and the opening of porto-caval anastomoses, is considered. A brief review discusses other possible causes of left-sided portal hypertension syndrome and its consequences.