External jugular vein

The external jugular vein is a large superficial venous trunk of the neck that provides the primary drainage of venous blood from the head into the cranial vena cava system. It is paired, existing on both the right and left sides, with each vein mainly draining the corresponding side of the head and neck.

Each external jugular vein generally results from the confluence of the maxillary and linguofacial veins (or the common facial vein, depending on the species) at the level of the angle of the mandible. It courses caudally within the jugular groove, which is bounded laterally by the brachiocephalicus muscle and medially by the sternocephalic muscle.

At the thoracic inlet, the right and left external jugular veins each join their corresponding subclavian vein to form the right and left brachiocephalic veins, which subsequently contribute to the formation of the cranial vena cava.