Retromandibular vein

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Vein: Posterior facial vein
Veins of the head and neck. (Post. facial visible at center.)
Dissection, showing salivary glands of right side. (Post. facial vein visible at bottom center.)
Latin	vena retromandibularis, vena facialis posterior
Gray's	subject #167 646
Source	superficial temporal vein, maxillary veins
Drains to	external jugular vein
Artery	facial artery

The retromandibular vein (temporomaxillary vein, posterior facial vein), formed by the union of the superficial temporal and maxillary veins, descends in the substance of the parotid gland, superficial to the external carotid artery but beneath the facial nerve, between the ramus of the mandible and the sternocleidomastoideus muscle.

It divides into two branches:

• an anterior, which passes forward and unites with the anterior facial vein to form the common facial vein.
• a posterior, which is joined by the posterior auricular vein and becomes the external jugular vein.

[edit] Additional images

Lateral head anatomy detail

[edit] External links

• SUNY Labs 27:13-0103 - "Infratemporal fossa: The Pterygoid plexus of Veins"
• lesson4 at The Anatomy Lesson by Wesley Norman (Georgetown University) (parotid2)
• retromandibular+vein at eMedicine Dictionary
• Tufts.edu

This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained within it may be outdated.

v • d • e Veins (emissary, jugular and others) of head and neck (drainage patterns can vary) (TA A12.3.04-06, GA 7.644) 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 cerebral veins: superior · superficial middle · inferior Deep cerebral veins: great · internal (basal, deep middle, superior thalamostriate) Cerebellar superior · inferior 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 Facial/common facial frontal · supraorbital · angular · superior labial · inferior labial · deep facial Direct lingual (dorsal lingual, deep lingual, sublingual) · pharyngeal · superior thyroid (superior laryngeal) · middle thyroid Brachiocephalic Vertebral occipital (occipital emissary) · suboccipital venous plexus deep cervical Direct inferior thyroid (inferior laryngeal) · thymic

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