This is a tutorial on some of the important veins of the body.

So I'm going to start at the heart and then work outwards and talk you through some of

the important veins that you should know.

This is the right atrium and this is the right ventricle of the heart.

Deoxygenated blood returns to the heart, to the right side of the heart via the venous

system.

So this vessel superior to the right atrium is called the superior vena cava and below,

you've got the inferior vena cava.

So you can see the inferior vena cava running all the way down to the pelvic region where

it splits.

So the superior vena cava forms from these two branches.

So you can see that these vessels lie behind the clavicle.

So this and the breastbone, which I've removed here would lie anteriorly here.

So the superior vena cava is formed from these two veins which drain into it and this is

the brachiocephalic veins.

So you've got the right and the left brachiocephalic veins.

This vein, which arches over here and runs underneath the clavicle is called the subclavian

vein because it runs underneath the clavicle.

So sub- meaning 'under', -clavian referring to clavicle.

So you've got the subclavian vein draining into the brachiocephalic vein, which joins

with the other brachiocephalic vein to form the superior vena cava.

And then you've got these two vessels here, these two veins, which are coming down from

the brain and the head.

This one, which is more medial is the internal jugular vein and this one, which is more lateral

is the external jugular vein.

The internal jugular vein drains the vein and the external jugular vein drains the head

and face.

This external jugular vein comes and drains into the subclavian vein and where the internal

jugular vein drains into becomes the brachiocephalic vein.

So where it drains into the subclavian, it becomes the brachiocephalic brain.

So you've got the subclavian vein here running underneath the clavicle becoming the brachiocephalic

vein, which joins with the other side to form the superior vena cava.

And then you've got the jugular vein, the internal and external jugular veins.

So following the veins over, we come to look at the veins which join the upper limbs.

So you can see this vein here, this joins into the axillary vein.

This region, in the armpit region is the axillary vein.

You've got this vein, the cephalic vein draining into the axillary vein.

So where the cephalic vein joins the axillary vein, it becomes the subclavian vein.

This is the axillary vein here.

Also draining into the axillary vein, you've got these two veins.

This one is the brachial vein, this middle one here and this is a deep vein.

This one here is the basilic vein.

Where these two veins meet, you get the axillary vein.

So the axillary vein runs from here to the point where the cephalic vein drains into

it.

So if I just put in the muscle layer, you can see what I mean by this vein being deep.

You can see this vein here is the deep brachial vein.

You've got the two superficial veins, the basilic vein and the cephalic vein.

I'll just put the muscle layer in so you can see that.

You've got the cephalic vein, which runs superficially and this basilic vein which is also superficial.

But the brachial vein here runs deeply, so this deep brachial vein.

So just working our way down the limb, you can see this vein which joins the cephalic

and the basilic veins.

This is the median cubital vein.

This links up the cephalic and the basilic vein.

Just to put the muscular system in again to give an idea of where these veins run, you

can see this is a superficial vein, which connects the superficial cephalic and the

superficial basilic veins.

So when you're taking blood from a patient, these are often the veins you take blood from,

the cephalic vein here, the median cubital vein and this basilic vein.

So just removing the muscular system again, this is the brachial vein, the vein that branches

off the axillary and runs deeply.

So you can see that it has two tributaries.

You've got the radial vein and the ulnar vein and these are deep veins also.

They run deep under the muscle layer.

So the brachial vein is formed by the joining of the radial and the ulnar vein, which run

on the radial side.

So the radial vein runs down the radial bone and the ulnar vein runs down the ulnar bone,

hence the name.

So just to quickly go over that again, you've got the subclavian vein which has the cephalic

So you've got the axillary vein going into the subclavian vein, going into the brachiocephalic

vein, going into the superior vena cava.

Joining the axillary vein, you've got the three branches.

You've got the cephalic vein, which is a superficial vein and you've got the basilic vein, which

is a superficial vein.

And then you've got this deep vein, which is the brachial vein.

So the cephalic and the basilic veins run all the way down the arm.

You can see it running all the way down here and they're superficial along their entire

course and the basilic vein on the medial side running all the way down and it's superficial.

The brachial vein which runs deep splits here.

It's formed from the radial and the ulnar veins which are deep.

The radial and ulnar veins run down their respective bones (the radial and ulnar bones)

and they join to form these palmar arches.

So you've got a deep and a superficial palmar venous arch, which are formed by the radial

and the ulnar veins.

So you'll be able to see which one is superficial if I rotate it around.

So you can see this arch here.

And if I rotate it around, you can see that it's closer to the surface, so it's the superficial

venous arch and you've got the deep palmar arch, palmar venous arch.

So if I just put in the muscle layer again, you can see this [inaudible 00:07:41], this

superficial palmar venous arch formed from the deep radial and ulnar veins.

And then you've got the deeper palmar venous arch here.

So the superficial veins, which I've showed you, the basilic vein, which runs all the

way down and it winds onto the back of the hand, the dorsum of the hand, the same happens

with the cephalic vein.

So this cephalic vein which comes all the way down the arm and then winds around onto

the back of the hand.

You could see that course.

So the medial vein here, which is the basilic vein and the lateral one, the cephalic vein,

they form this dorsal venous plexus on the hand.

This is often the site for cannulation of patients.

So that's the venous drainage of the upper limbs.

It's a little bit more complicated than the...