Jugular vein

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Jugular vein

The jugular veins are vein

Vein

In the circulatory system, veins are blood vessels that carry blood toward the heart. Most veins carry deoxygenated blood from the tissues back to the heart; exceptions are the pulmonary vein and umbilical veins, both of which carry oxygenated blood....
s that bring deoxygenated blood from the head

Head

In anatomy, the head of an animal is the rostral part that usually comprises the brain, eyes, ears, nose, and mouth . Some very simple animals may not have a head, but many bilateria do....
back to the heart via the superior vena cava

Superior vena cava

The superior vena cava is a large, yet short vein that carries deoxygenated blood from the upper half of the body to the heart's right atrium....
.

e are two sets of jugular veins: external and internal.

Both connect to the brachocephalic veins, the external jugular joining more laterally than the internal. The brachicephalic veins then join the subclavian veins from both sides then join to form the superior vena cava

Superior vena cava

The superior vena cava is a large, yet short vein that carries deoxygenated blood from the upper half of the body to the heart's right atrium....
.

There is also another, minor, jugular vein, the anterior jugular vein

Anterior jugular vein

The anterior jugular vein begins near the hyoid bone by the confluence of several superficial veins from the submaxillary region.It descends between the median line and the anterior border of the Sternocleidomastoideus, and, at the lower part of the neck, passes beneath that muscle to open into the termination of the external jugular, or, i...
, draining the submaxillary region.

jugular venous pressure (JVP) is an indirectly observed pressure over the venous system

Vein

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Encyclopedia

The jugular veins are vein

Vein

Head

Superior vena cava

The superior vena cava is a large, yet short vein that carries deoxygenated blood from the upper half of the body to the heart's right atrium....
.

Internal and external

There are two sets of jugular veins: external and internal.

The internal jugular vein
Internal jugular vein

The two internal jugular veins collect the blood from the brain, the superficial parts of the face, and the neck....
is formed by the anastomosis
Anastomosis

An anastomosis is a network of streams that both branch out and reconnect, such as blood vessels or leaf veins. The term is used in medicine, biology, mycology and geology....
of blood from the sigmoid sinus
Sigmoid sinus

The sigmoid sinuses , within a human head, are 2 areas beneath the brain, which allow blood veins to span the area, from the center of the head downward....
of the dura mater
Dura mater

The dura mater , or pachymeninx, is the tough and inflexible outermost of the three layers of the meninges surrounding the brain and spinal cord....
and the common facial vein
Common facial vein

The anterior facial vein usually unites with the posterior facial vein to form the common facial vein, which crosses the external carotid artery and enters the internal jugular vein at a variable point below the hyoid bone....
. The internal jugular runs with the common carotid artery
Common carotid artery

In human anatomy, the common carotid artery is an artery that supplies the head and neck with oxygenated blood; it divides in the neck to form the external carotid artery and internal carotid artery....
and vagus nerve
Vagus nerve

The vagus nerve is the tenth of twelve paired cranial nerves, and is the only nerve that starts in the brainstem and extends, through the jugular foramen, down below the head , to the neck, chest and abdomen, where it contributes to the innervation of the viscera....
inside the carotid sheath
Carotid sheath

The carotid sheath is an anatomy term for the fibrous connective tissue that surrounds the internal carotid artery and related structures in the neck....
. It provides venous drainage for the contents of the skull
Skull

The skull is a bone structure found in the head of many animals. The skull supports the structures of the face and protects the head against injury....
.

The external jugular runs superficially to sternocleidomastoid.

Both connect to the brachocephalic veins, the external jugular joining more laterally than the internal. The brachicephalic veins then join the subclavian veins from both sides then join to form the superior vena cava

Superior vena cava

Anterior jugular vein

Pressure

The jugular venous pressure (JVP) is an indirectly observed pressure over the venous system

Vein

Heart disease

Heart disease is an umbrella term for a variety for different diseases affecting the heart. As of 2007, it is the leading cause of death in the United States, England, Canada and Wales, killing one person every 34 seconds in the United States alone....
and lung disease.

Classically three upward deflections and two downward deflections have been described. The upward deflections correspond with (1) atrial contraction, (2) ventricular contraction (and resulting bulging of tricuspid into the right atrium during isovolumic systole), and (3) atrial venous filling. The downward deflections correspond with (1) the atrium relaxing (and the tricuspid valve moving downward) and (2) the filling of ventricle after tricuspid opens.

In modern culture

In TV culture, the jugular vein is commonly misconceived to be the entire front of the throat, or as being synonymous with the carotid artery, and is commonly cut open in gory action films. Blood then sprays out in a violent manner. The jugular is also the favorite target for vampire

Vampire

Vampires are mythology or folklore Revenant who subsist by feeding on the blood of the living. In folkloric tales, the undead vampires often visited loved ones and caused mischief or deaths in the neighbourhoods they inhabited when they were alive....
s, being a blood vessel that is almost always exposed without cloth covering it and being the easiest place to bite and suck the blood.

The First World War was sparked when an assassin's bullet

Bullet

A bullet is a hard projectile propelled by a firearm, Sling , or air gun and is normally made from metal. A bullet does not contain explosives, but damages the intended target by tissue or mechanical disruption through impact or penetration....
hit Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west....
in the jugular vein.