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
Dorlands / Elsevier	v_05/12851638

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] External links

SUNY Labs 27:13-0103 - "Infratemporal fossa: The Pterygoid plexus of Veins"
Norman/Georgetown lesson4 (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 As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated. Please edit the article if this is the case, and feel free to remove this notice when it is no longer relevant.

v • d • e

Veins (emissary, jugular and others) and sinuses of head and neck (drainage patterns can vary)

to external jugular

retromandibular: maxillary • superficial temporal (anterior auricular)

posterior auricular

transverse cervical - suprascapular - anterior jugular (jugular venous arch)

to internal jugular

Diploic/brain	cerebral: superior • middle • inferior • great • internal (basal, superior thalamostriate) cerebellar: superior • inferior To COS: superior sagittal • straight (inferior sagittal) • occipital To CS: sphenoparietal • intercavernous superior ophthalmic (ethmoidal, central retinal, nasofrontal) • inferior ophthalmic • vorticose veins To IJV: sigmoid: transverse (petrosquamous) • superior petrosal inferior petrosal (basilar plexus, internal auditory veins) - condylar

Other	common facial • facial (frontal, supraorbital, angular, superior labial, inferior labial, deep facial) • pterygoid plexus lingual (dorsal lingual, deep lingual, sublingual) • pharyngeal • thyroid (superior/superior laryngeal, middle)