Anterior jugular vein
Vena iugularis anterior
A superficial vein running down the front of the neck beside the midline, from near the hyoid bone to the root of the neck.
At a glance
- English
- Anterior jugular vein
- Latin (TA2)
- Vena iugularis anterior
- System
- Vein
- Region
- Head
- Side
- Paired, left and right
About the anterior jugular vein
Among the veins at the front of the neck, the anterior jugular is a small superficial one. It forms close to the hyoid bone, where several little veins from the submandibular region come together, and descends a short way from the midline, between it and the front edge of sternocleidomastoid. Along the way it lies near the cricothyroid ligament and picks up small laryngeal veins and sometimes a thyroid vein.
Low in the neck it bends outwards, passing deep to sternocleidomastoid, and usually ends in the external jugular vein close to that vessel's termination; occasionally it drains straight into the subclavian vein. In the suprasternal region the veins of the two sides are linked across the midline by the jugular venous arch, which sits between layers of deep fascia and takes in branches of the inferior thyroid veins. There is also a link on each side with the internal jugular vein.
It has no valves, and its size is very variable. When it is large the external jugular tends to be small, and the reverse is also true. Most people have one on each side, but there may be a single midline vein, or an extra vein on one side that wanders across the midline. The pretracheal lymph nodes are found along its course on each side.
The vein can be picked out easily with ultrasound of the neck. It is important in tracheostomy and other procedures on the front of the neck, because it lies directly in the path to the trachea and can bleed briskly when cut. Its unpredictable course, including duplicated or crossing veins, adds to the risk, and keeping the incision strictly in the midline and checking with ultrasound beforehand helps to avoid it.
Course and drainage
- Begins at
- Starts close to the hyoid bone from the union of superficial veins of the submandibular region.
- Drains into
- Ends deep to sternocleidomastoid in the last part of the external jugular, or sometimes in the subclavian vein.
- Drains
- Drains the skin and superficial tissues of the front of the neck, with small laryngeal and thyroid tributaries.
Anthromica
See the anterior jugular vein where it really sits, with every layer of the body around it.
- Every layer, one body. Peel from muscle to bone, nerve, vessel and organ, and turn it any way.
- English and Latin. Every structure named the way your exam names it.
- Quiz until it sticks. Short drills on the structures you keep missing.
Free to start. No card.
