The external jugular vein receives the greater part of the blood from the exterior of the

cranium The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, facial bones, ear ossicles and hyoid bone. However two parts are more prominent: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, the ...

and the deep parts of the

face The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may aff ...

, being formed by the junction of the posterior division of the

retromandibular vein The retromandibular vein (temporomaxillary vein, posterior facial vein) is a major vein of the face. Anatomy Origin The retromandibular vein is formed by the union of the superficial temporal and maxillary veins. Course It descends in th ...

with the posterior auricular vein.

Structure

It commences in the substance of the

parotid gland The parotid gland is a major salivary gland in many animals. In humans, the two parotid glands are present on either side of the mouth and in front of both ears. They are the largest of the salivary glands. Each parotid is wrapped around the ma ...

, on a level with the

angle of the mandible __NOTOC__ The angle of the mandible (gonial angle) is located at the posterior border at the junction of the lower border of the ramus of the mandible. The angle of the mandible, which may be either inverted or everted, is marked by rough, obliq ...

, and runs perpendicularly down the neck, in the direction of a line drawn from the angle of the mandible to the middle of the clavicle superficial to the

sternocleidomastoideus The sternocleidomastoid muscle is one of the largest and most superficial cervical muscles. The primary actions of the muscle are rotation of the head to the opposite side and flexion of the neck. The sternocleidomastoid is innervated by the access ...

. In its course it crosses the sternocleidomastoideus obliquely, and in the

subclavian triangle The subclavian triangle (or supraclavicular triangle, omoclavicular triangle, Ho's triangle), the smaller division of the posterior triangle, is bounded, above, by the inferior belly of the omohyoideus; below, by the clavicle; its base is formed by ...

perforates the

deep fascia Deep fascia (or investing fascia) is a fascia, a layer of dense connective tissue that can surround individual muscles and groups of muscles to separate into fascial compartments. This fibrous connective tissue interpenetrates and surrounds the m ...

, and ends in the

subclavian vein The subclavian vein is a paired large vein, one on either side of the body, that is responsible for draining blood from the upper extremities, allowing this blood to return to the heart. The left subclavian vein plays a key role in the absorption ...

lateral to or in front of the

scalenus anterior The scalene muscles are a group of three pairs of muscles in the lateral neck, namely the anterior scalene, middle scalene, and posterior scalene. They are innervated by the third to the eight cervical spinal nerves (C3-C8). The anterior and m ...

, piercing the roof of the

posterior triangle Posterior may refer to: * Posterior (anatomy), the end of an organism opposite to its head ** Buttocks, as a euphemism * Posterior horn (disambiguation) * Posterior probability The posterior probability is a type of conditional probability that r ...

. It is separated from the sternocleidomastoideus by the investing layer of the deep cervical fascia, and is covered by the

platysma The platysma muscle is a superficial muscle of the human neck that overlaps the sternocleidomastoid. It covers the anterior surface of the neck superficially. When it contracts, it produces a slight wrinkling of the neck, and a "bowstring" effec ...

, the superficial fascia, and the integument; it crosses the cutaneous cervical nerve, and its upper half runs parallel with the

great auricular nerve The great auricular nerve is a cutaneous nerve of the head. It originates from the cervical plexus, with branches of spinal nerves C2 and C3. It provides sensory nerve supply to the skin over the parotid gland and the mastoid process of the tempor ...

Valves

It is provided with two pairs of valves, the lower pair being placed at its entrance into the subclavian vein, the upper in most cases about 4 cm above the clavicle. The portion of vein between the two sets of valves is often dilated, and is termed the sinus. These valves do not prevent the regurgitation of the blood, or the passage of injection from below upward.

Variation

The external jugular vein varies in size, bearing an inverse proportion to the other veins of the neck, it is occasionally double.

Function

This vein receives the

occipital The occipital bone () is a cranial dermal bone and the main bone of the occiput (back and lower part of the skull). It is trapezoidal in shape and curved on itself like a shallow dish. The occipital bone overlies the occipital lobes of the cereb ...

occasionally, the

posterior external jugular The posterior external jugular vein begins in the occipital region and returns the blood from the skin and superficial muscles in the upper and back part of the neck, lying between the Splenius and Trapezius. It runs down the back part of the nec ...

, and, near its termination, the

transverse cervical The transverse cervical artery (transverse artery of neck or transversa colli artery) is an artery in the neck and a branch of the thyrocervical trunk, running at a higher level than the suprascapular artery. Structure It passes transversely ...

transverse scapular The suprascapular artery is a branch of the thyrocervical trunk on the neck. Structure At first, it passes downward and laterally across the scalenus anterior and phrenic nerve, being covered by the sternocleidomastoid muscle; it then crosse ...

, and

anterior jugular vein The anterior jugular vein is a vein in the neck. Structure The anterior jugular vein lies lateral to the cricothyroid ligament. It begins near the hyoid bone by the confluence of several superficial veins from the submandibular region. Its tr ...

s; in the substance of the

parotid The parotid gland is a major salivary gland in many animals. In humans, the two parotid glands are present on either side of the mouth and in front of both ears. They are the largest of the salivary glands. Each parotid is wrapped around the ma ...

, a large branch of communication from the internal jugular joins it. The external jugular vein drains into the subclavian vein lateral to the junction of the subclavian vein and the internal jugular vein.

Clinical significance

The external jugular is a large vein used in

prehospital Emergency medical services (EMS), also known as ambulance services or paramedic services, are emergency services that provide urgent pre-hospital treatment and stabilisation for serious illness and injuries and transport to definitive care. ...

medicine for venous access when the Paramedic is unable to find another peripheral veinhttp://pehsc.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/EMS-Provider-Scope-of-Practice-08-28-15.pdf It is commonly used in cardiac arrest or other situations where the patient is unresponsive due to the pain associated with the procedure. In a

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possib ...

using this vein has the advantage that the paramedic can stay at the head and intubate the patient as well. Although many EMTs and paramedics use this vein, the

American Heart Association The American Heart Association (AHA) is a nonprofit organization in the United States that funds cardiovascular medical research, educates consumers on healthy living and fosters appropriate cardiac care in an effort to reduce disability and death ...

still recommends the use of the

cephalic vein In human anatomy, the cephalic vein is a superficial vein in the arm. It originates from the radial end of the dorsal venous network of hand, and ascends along the radial (lateral) side of the arm before emptying into the axillary vein. At the e ...

Additional images

File:2132 Thoracic Abdominal Veins.jpg, Veins of the thoracic and abdominal regions File:Gray378.png, Muscles of the head, face, and neck. File:Gray384.png, Section of the neck at about the level of the sixth cervical vertebra. File:Gray577.png, The venæ cavæ and azygos veins, with their tributaries.

References

External links

* () {{Authority control Veins of the head and neck