Jugular vein

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Vein: Jugular vein
The veins of the neck, viewed from in front.
Gray's	subject #168 646
Drains to	superior vena cava
MeSH	Jugular+Veins

The jugular veins are veins that bring deoxygenated blood from the head back to the heart via the superior vena cava.

Contents 1 Internal and external 2 Pressure 3 In modern culture 4 References

[edit] Internal and external

There are two sets of jugular veins: external and internal.

• The internal jugular vein is formed by the anastomosis of blood from the sigmoid sinus of the dura mater and the common facial vein. The internal jugular runs with the common carotid artery and vagus nerve inside the carotid sheath. It provides venous drainage for the contents of the skull.

• The external jugular runs superficially to sternocleidomastoid.

Both connect to the brachocephalic veins, the external jugular joining more laterally than the internal. The brachicephalic veins then join the subclavian veins from both sides then join to form the superior vena cava.^[1]

There is also another, minor, jugular vein, the anterior jugular vein, draining the submaxillary region.

[edit] Pressure

Main article: Jugular venous pressure

The jugular venous pressure (JVP) is an indirectly observed pressure over the venous system. It can be useful in the differentiation of different forms of heart and lung disease.

Classically three upward deflections and two downward deflections have been described. The upward deflections correspond with (1) atrial contraction, (2) ventricular contraction (and resulting bulging of tricuspid into the right atrium during isovolumic systole), and (3) atrial venous filling. The downward deflections correspond with (1) the atrium relaxing (and the tricuspid valve moving downward) and (2) the filling of ventricle after tricuspid opens.

[edit] In modern culture

In TV culture, the jugular vein is commonly misconceived to be the entire front of the throat, and is commonly cut open in gory action films. Blood then sprays out in a violent manner. The jugular is also the favorite target for vampires, being a blood vessel that is almost always exposed without cloth covering it and being the easiest place to bite and suck the blood.

The First World War was sparked when an assassin's bullet hit Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in the jugular vein.

[edit] References

v • d • e Veins (emissary, jugular and others) and sinuses of head and neck (drainage patterns can vary) to external jugular retromandibular: maxillary • superficial temporal (anterior auricular) posterior auricular transverse cervical - suprascapular - anterior jugular (jugular venous arch) to internal jugular Diploic/brain cerebral: superior • middle • inferior • great • internal (basal, superior thalamostriate) cerebellar: superior • inferior To COS: superior sagittal • straight (inferior sagittal) • occipital To CS: sphenoparietal • intercavernous superior ophthalmic (ethmoidal, central retinal, nasofrontal) • inferior ophthalmic • vorticose veins To IJV: sigmoid: transverse (petrosquamous) • superior petrosal inferior petrosal (basilar plexus, internal auditory veins) - condylar Other common facial • facial (frontal, supraorbital, angular, superior labial, inferior labial, deep facial) • pterygoid plexus lingual (dorsal lingual, deep lingual, sublingual) • pharyngeal • thyroid (superior/superior laryngeal, middle) to vertebral vein occipital (occipital)  • suboccipital venous plexus deep cervical to brachiocephalic inferior thyroid (inferior laryngeal) - thymic