Veins
Objective 7
Name and label the major veins of the body.
Veins are, by their very nature, much more variable and inconsistent than arteries. (If you’re missing an artery, major structures don’t get supplied by blood, but there are many pathways to drain deoxygenated blood from a structure.)
Veins of the Lower Extremity
The names of the veins draining the lower extremity parallel those of the arteries. There is a notable exception in the saphenous vein, the longest vein of the body. The saphenous vein is often used as a source for a coronary artery bypass graft.
Veins of the Lower Extremity
Venous drainage of the foot
- Digital veins
- Dorsal venous arch
- Plantar venous arch
- Medial plantar vein
- Lateral plantar vein
Venous drainage of the leg
- Fibular vein
- Anterior tibial vein
- Posterior tibial vein
- Small saphenous vein
- Great saphenous vein
Venous drainage of the knee
- Popliteal vein
Venous drainage of the thigh
- Deep femoral veins
- Femoral circumflex veins
Venous drainage of the lower extremity
- Femoral vein = External iliac vein
Venous drainage of the buttocks
- Gluteal vein
Venous drainage of the groin
- Obturator vein
- Internal pudendal vein
- Lateral sacral vein
Common iliac vein
How Pulmonary Emboli Form in Veins
It is quite common for blood clots to arise from the veins of the leg. Blood flow is often restricted as patients get older; the veins become flabby and distended (varicose), which creates turbulence, which promotes clot formation. If a clot forms and breaks free (a thromboembolus), it travels through successively larger veins (femoral vein, common iliac vein, inferior vena cava) to the heart. The right atrium and right ventricle are similarly large structures. Next, the thromboembolus will pass through the pulmonary valve into the pulmonary artery. The first small vessels or capillary bed it will encounter is in the lung, where it becomes a pulmonary embolism.
Veins of the Upper Extremity
Like the foot, the hand has an arching system of veins (palmar venous arches and dorsal venous arches, not shown) that receive drainage from the digital veins.
The basilic and ulnar veins are found on the medial side of the forearm; the median antebrachial vein is medial, as we’d expect from the name; and the radial and cephalic veins are found laterally.
The median cubital vein, in the anterior elbow (cubital) region, is where phlebotomists take blood from most patients.
The basilic vein continues into the arm proper on the medial side. The ulnar, median antebrachial, and radial veins have joined and anastomosed with each other and with the other veins of the forearm to form a larger brachial vein. The cephalic vein continues on the lateral side of the arm.
Like the arterial supply, the venous drainage of the upper extremity is carried by a large vessel with three names. The brachial artery becomes the axillary vein in the axillary region. The subscapular vein joins at this point. As the vein is covered by the clavicle, it c