Veins of Head, Neck, Upper Limbs and Thorax
Alvedina Besirevic
Head and Neck Veins
• Blood collected by three pair of veins.
• External jugular veins
• Internal jugular veins
• Vertebral veins
External jugular veins
• Drain superficial scalp and face structures
• Descent through lateral neck
• Pass obliquely over sternocleidomastoid muscle
• Empty into subclavian veins
Internal jugular veins
• Largest of the paired veins draining the head and neck
• Receive bulk of blood draining from brain
• Receive blood from facial and superficial temporal veins
• Joins with subclavian at the base of the neck to form brachiocephalic vein which join to form superior vena cava
Vertebral veins
• Drain cervical vertebrae, spinal cord and small neck muscles
• Join brachiocephalic veins at the root of the neck
Veins of head and neckSuperficial aspect
Dural venous sinuses of the brain
Thorax and upper limb Schematic flowchart
Thorax and upper limb
Head neck and brainSchematic flowchart