human anatomy Human anatomy (gr. ἀνατομία, "dissection", from ἀνά, "up", and τέμνειν, "cut") is primarily the scientific study of the morphology of the human body. Anatomy is subdivided into gross anatomy and microscopic anatomy. Gross ...

, the brachial veins are venae comitantes of the

brachial artery The brachial artery is the major blood vessel of the (upper) arm. It is the continuation of the axillary artery beyond the lower margin of teres major muscle. It continues down the ventral surface of the arm until it reaches the cubital fossa ...

in the arm proper. Because they are deep to muscle, they are considered

deep vein A deep vein is a vein that is deep in the body. This contrasts with superficial veins that are close to the body's surface. Deep veins are almost always beside an artery with the same name (e.g. the femoral vein is beside the femoral artery). ...

s. Their course is that of the brachial artery (in reverse): they begin where radial veins and ulnar veins join (corresponding to the bifurcation of the brachial artery). They end at the inferior border of the teres major muscle. At this point, the brachial veins join the

basilic vein The basilic vein is a large superficial vein of the upper limb that helps drain parts of the hand and forearm. It originates on the medial ( ulnar) side of the dorsal venous network of the hand and travels up the base of the forearm, where its ...

to form the axillary vein. The brachial veins also have small tributaries that drain the

muscle Muscle is a soft tissue, one of the four basic types of animal tissue. There are three types of muscle tissue in vertebrates: skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle, and smooth muscle. Muscle tissue gives skeletal muscles the ability to muscle contra ...

s of the upper arm, such as

biceps brachii muscle The biceps or biceps brachii (, "two-headed muscle of the arm") is a large muscle that lies on the front of the upper arm between the shoulder and the elbow. Both Muscle head, heads of the muscle arise on the scapula and join to form a single ...

and triceps brachii muscle.

Additional images

File:Slide8UUU.JPG, Brachial vein File:Gray576.png, The veins of the right

axilla The axilla (: axillae or axillas; also known as the armpit, underarm or oxter) is the area on the human body directly under the shoulder joint. It includes the axillary space, an anatomical space within the shoulder girdle between the arm a ...

, viewed from in front.

External links

*
Diagram at frca.co.uk
{{Authority control Veins of the upper limb