Cephalic vein

In human anatomy, the cephalic vein is a superficial vein in the arm. It is the longest vein of the upper limb. It starts at the anatomical snuffbox 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 elbow, it communicates with the basilic vein via the median cubital vein. It is provided with 13 pairs of valves, of which five occur in its antebrachial portion, seven in its brachial portion, and one at its union with the axillary vein.