jugular vein

Examples of jugular vein in the following topics:

• Veins of the Head and Neck

  • Two main jugular veins are responsible for the venous draining of the head and neck.
  • The superficial external jugular vein is formed from the retromandibular vein and the posterior auricular vein at a point adjacent to the mandible.
  • The external jugular vein passes down the neck and underneath the clavicle before draining into the subclavian vein.
  • The deep-lying internal jugular vein receives blood from the dural venous sinuses in the brain as well as the cerebral and cerebellar veins.
  • Upon exiting the neck, the internal jugular vein merges with the subclavian vein to form the brachiocephalic vein.

• Lymphatic Tissue Development

  • The first lymph sacs to appear are the paired jugular lymph sacs at the junction of the internal jugular and subclavian veins.
  • From the jugular lymph sacs, lymphatic capillary plexuses spread to the thorax, upper limbs, neck, and head.
  • Each jugular lymph sac retains at least one connection with its jugular vein, the left one developing into the superior portion of the thoracic duct.
  • It develops from the primitive vena cava and mesonephric veins.
  • The last of the lymph sacs, the paired posterior lymph sacs, develop from the iliac veins.

• Veins of the Thorax

  • The superior vena cava, formed from the left and right brachiocephalic veins, returns deoxygenated blood from the upper half of the body and carries blood from the upper limbs, head, and neck via the thyroid and jugular veins.
  • Bilaterally, it arises from the superior epigastric vein, accompanies the internal thoracic artery along its course, and terminates in the brachiocephalic vein.
  • The supreme intercostal vein is a paired vein that drains the first intercostal space on its corresponding side.
  • It usually drains into the brachiocephalic vein.
  • The renal veins from the kidney and hepatic veins of the liver drain directly into the inferior vena cava.

• Principal Veins

  • Deep veins are often of larger caliber than superficial veins and carry the majority of the blood within the circulatory system.
  • Communicating veins, or perforator veins if they pass through a large muscle mass, directly connect superficial and direct veins.
  • The venae cavae are the veins with the largest diameter.
  • The superior vena cava is formed from the brachiocephalic veins which are in turn formed from the subclavian and internal jugular veins that serve the arm and head respectively.
  • There are four pulmonary veins, two from each lung, each of which forms from three to four bronchial veins.

• Lymph Trunks and Ducts

  • Jugular lymph trunks, located in the neck, drain lymph fluid from the cervical lymph nodes of the neck.
  • The right lymphatic duct receives lymph from the right and upper halves of the body, including the right sides of the jugular, bronchomediastinal, and subclavian lymph trunks.
  • The thoracic duct drains into to the left subclavian vein while the right duct drains into the right subclavian vein, both at the junction between the respective vein and the jugular vein.
  • The two subclavian veins then merge into the vena cava,  the large vein that brings deoxygenated blood to the heart.
  • The lymph ducts each have internal valves at their junction with the subclavian vein.

• Vagus (X) Nerve

  • Upon leaving the medulla between the medullary pyramid and the inferior cerebellar peduncle, it extends through the jugular foramen, then passes into the carotid sheath between the internal carotid artery and the internal jugular vein below the head, to the neck, chest and abdomen, where it contributes to the innervation of the viscera.

• Lymphoid Tissue

  • Lymphatic vessels develop from lymph sacs that arise from developing veins, which are derived from mesoderm, the inner tissue layer of the embryo.
  • This process begins with he lymph nodes closest to the thoracic and right lymph ducts, which arises from immature subclavian-jugular vein junction.
  • The lymph nodes organized around other lymph trunks, such as those in the abdomen and intestine, develop afterwards from nearby veins.

• Great Vessels of the Heart

  • The right and left subclavian veins, jugular veins, and thyroid veins feed into the superior vena cava.
  • The subclavian veins are significant because the thoracic lymphatic duct drains lymph fluid into the subclavian veins, making the superior vena cava a site of lymph fluid recirculation into the plasma.
  • Along the way up the body from the iliac veins, the renal and suprarenal veins (kidney and adrenal glands), lumbar veins (from the back), and hepatic veins (from the liver) all drain into the inferior vena cava.
  • Four pulmonary veins enter the left atrium.
  • The pulmonary arteries and veins are both considered part of pulmonary circulation.

• Venous Blood Pressure

  • Venous pressure is the vascular pressure in a vein or the atria of the heart.
  • Jugular venous pressure (JVP), the indirectly observed pressure over the venous system.
  • Portal venous pressure or the blood pressure in the portal vein.
  • In addition, veins can easily distend or stretch.
  • Veins differ from arteries in structure and function; arteries are more muscular than veins, while veins are often closer to the skin and contain valves to help keep blood flowing toward the heart.

• Veins of the Upper Limbs

  • The major deep veins of the arm are the radial and ulnar veins, which run along the length of their respective bones and merge at the elbow to form the paired brachial vein.
  • The major superficial veins of the upper limb are the cephalic, median cubital and basilic veins.
  • The basilic vein follows a similar path but is located medially to the cephalic vein.
  • At the shoulder, the basilic vein passes deep into the arm and merges with the brachial veins to form the axillary vein, to which the cephaliac vein merges, forming the subclavian vein.
  • The deep veins are shown in blue.