Posterior external jugular vein

Posterior external jugular vein
The vertebral vein. (Posterior external jugular labeled at center left.)
Details
Identifiers
Latin	vena jugularis posterior
FMA	14318
Anatomical terminology [edit on Wikidata]

The posterior external jugular vein begins in the occipital region and returns the blood from the skin and superficial muscles in the upper and back part of the neck, lying between the splenius and trapezius.

It runs down the back part of the neck, and opens into the external jugular vein just below the middle of its course.

References

This article incorporates text in the public domain from page 647 of the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918)

Veins of the head and neck

External jugular

Retromandibular	maxillary pterygoid plexus superficial temporal anterior auricular
Direct	posterior auricular transverse cervical suprascapular anterior jugular jugular venous arch

Internal jugular

Diploic/brain

Cerebral

Superficial:	superior superficial middle inferior inferior anastomotic (Labbé) superior anastomotic (Trolard)
Deep:	great internal basal deep middle superior thalamostriate choroid septal

Cerebellar

Sinuses

To COS	superior sagittal straight inferior sagittal occipital
To CS	sphenoparietal intercavernous superior ophthalmic ethmoidal central retinal nasofrontal vorticose veins inferior ophthalmic
To IJV	sigmoid: transverse petrosquamous superior petrosal inferior petrosal basilar plexus internal auditory veins condylar