What Is an Internal Jugular Vein?

The internal jugular vein starts at the jugular foramen at the base of the skull. For the continuation of the intracranial sigmoid sinus. The internal jugular vein is located inside the carotid sheath in the anterolateral side of the internal carotid-common carotid artery, and there is a decline in the vagus nerve between the internal carotid-common carotid artery and the internal jugular vein.

The internal jugular vein starts at the jugular foramen at the base of the skull. For the continuation of the intracranial sigmoid sinus. The internal jugular vein is located inside the carotid sheath in the anterolateral side of the internal carotid-common carotid artery, and there is a decline in the vagus nerve between the internal carotid-common carotid artery and the internal jugular vein.

The internal jugular vein descends behind the sternoclavicular joint and merges with the subclavian vein to form the head-arm vein. This meeting point is called the jugular venous angulus. The starting point of the internal jugular vein is slightly enlarged, called the superior bulb of jugular vein. The right side is larger than the left side and is located in the jugular vein fossa. The end of the internal jugular vein is also swollen, called the inferior bulb of jugularvein. It is located behind the sternocleidomastoid and clavicle head formed by the sternocleidomastoid muscle. There is a pair of valves in the upper part of the ball.

Internal jugular vein puncture and intubation are one of the clinical diagnosis and treatment approaches, such as the measurement of central venous pressure and the input of high-priced nutrition. Because the right internal jugular vein is thick and almost in line with the head and arm veins and superior vena cava, the internal jugular vein puncture and intubation should be performed on the right side. The puncture and intubation site is usually selected at the midpoint or slightly above the anterior edge of the sternocleidomastoid muscle, or at the junction of the middle and lower 1/3 of the posterior edge of the sternocleidomastoid muscle, or between the two ends of the muscle. Within the triangular gap. Ligation of one internal jugular vein does not affect blood flow to the brain. Therefore, neck cancer can be removed during dissection. Sometimes a section can also be cut as the material for vascular transplantation. The line from the earlobe to the sternoclavicular joint represents the surface projection of the internal jugular vein. The internal jugular vein collected venous blood flow from the intracranial branches of the central nervous system and sensory organs, as well as the extracranial branches of the facial vein, tongue vein, middle thyroid vein, sternocleidomastoid muscle vein, and pharyngeal vein.

Chinese name

Internal jugular vein

Foreign name

.jugularis interna

Brief introduction

Deep veins of the neck

Function

Collect venous blood from the face and deep neck

Internal jugular vein

Internal jugular vein pathology and clinical

Internal jugular vein dilatation is due to the decrease in elastic fiber elasticity of the wall of the internal jugular vein and the decrease in smooth muscles leading to the dilation and thinning of the internal jugular vein, and some may be associated with thrombosis.

The disease can occur at any age. It is more common in men, and the lesions are unilateral or bilateral, mostly unilateral. Under normal circumstances, there are no symptoms, or only local pain. Examination revealed a bulging mass in the neck, which was more pronounced when holding breath, speaking loudly, or coughing, but shrinking or even disappearing when breathing quietly or under local pressure.

Sonography of internal jugular vein

1. The ratio of the cross-sectional area of the internal jugular vein during normal breathing and breath holding is less than 1: 2, and the internal jugular vein is fusiform or limited cystic dilatation during internal jugular vasodilation, and the enlargement is more obvious when you hold your breath. At this time, the ratio is greater than 1: 2, sometimes up to 1: 4. The venous lumen is still an echoless zone, and occasionally thrombus echoes attached to the wall of the vein are mostly low or equal echoes.

2. Color Doppler showed dark red and blue swirls in the dilated jugular vein cavity. The Doppler spectrum shows that the velocity of most of the swelling is low and flat, and the velocity is mostly less than 10 cm / s.

Differential diagnosis of internal jugular vein

1. Differentiation from superior vena cava obstruction syndrome The disease is mostly bilateral internal jugular vein dilation, which has nothing to do with breathing and breath hold, and the head and face and upper limb veins are widely expanded. The internal jugular vein blood flow is significantly slowed or no blood flow. Signal, careful search can find the upper mediastinal mass that causes compression or occlusion of the superior vena cava; internal jugular venous dilatation is mostly one side of the jugular vein dilatation and local swelling, which changes significantly during breathing and breath holding, and the head and face and There was no change in the veins of the upper limbs, and the superior vena cava was also unobstructed. The color blood flow showed that the blood flow in the bulging part was swirling in red and blue, and the flow rate was slow but unobstructed.

2. Differentiate with the increase of vena cava pressure caused by right heart failure. In addition to bilateral jugular vein dilatation, both the superior and inferior vena cava have dilated in right heart failure. At the same time, there are heart diseases that cause right heart failure. Symptoms are mostly unilateral jugular vein dilatation, without dilatation of the superior and inferior vena cava, and obstruction of venous return.

Internal jugular vein experience

The diagnosis of this disease is mainly based on measuring the diameter and cross-sectional area of the internal jugular vein during calm breathing and holding breath. The diagnosis is not difficult.