Superior labial vein
Vena labialis superior
A small vein that drains the upper lip and runs outwards to join the facial vein near the angle of the mouth.
At a glance
- English
- Superior labial vein
- Latin (TA2)
- Vena labialis superior
- System
- Vein
- Region
- Head
- Side
- Paired, left and right
About the superior labial vein
The superior labial vein collects blood from the upper lip. It begins from a fine network of veins in the lip, which lie between orbicularis oris and the mucous membrane and in the skin, and it runs laterally along the lip, close to the superior labial branch of the facial artery. Near the corner of the mouth it ends by joining the facial vein as one of its tributaries.
The facial vein itself begins at the medial angle of the eye as the angular vein and runs downwards and backwards across the face, behind the facial artery, to the lower border of the mandible. Along this route it receives the superior and inferior labial veins, the deep facial vein and other small tributaries, and it eventually drains into the internal jugular vein in the neck.
Within the lip the superior labial veins of the two sides communicate freely across the midline, and they are linked to the veins of the nose, which drain into the same facial vein a little higher up. Like the other facial veins, the vessels of the upper lip have few or no effective valves, so blood can flow in either direction depending on pressure.
This lack of valves is the reason the upper lip and the area around the nose are sometimes called the danger triangle of the face. The facial vein is connected to the cavernous sinus inside the skull through the ophthalmic veins and through the deep facial vein and pterygoid plexus. An infection of the upper lip, such as a squeezed boil, can therefore spread backwards along these channels and cause clotting in the cavernous sinus, a rare but serious complication. The vein also bleeds freely when the lip is cut, and it is taken into account in cleft lip repair.
Course and drainage
- Begins at
- A venous network in the upper lip, between orbicularis oris and the lining of the mouth.
- Drains into
- Drains laterally into the facial vein near the angle of the mouth.
- Drains
- Drains the skin, muscle, glands and mucous membrane of the upper lip.
Anthromica
See the superior labial 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.
