In human anatomy, the cephalic vein (also called the antecubital vein) is a

superficial vein Superficial veins are veins that are close to the surface of the body, as opposed to deep veins, which are far from the surface. Superficial veins are not paired with an artery, unlike the deep veins, which are typically associated with an art ...

in the arm. It is the longest vein of the upper limb. It starts at the anatomical snuffbox from the radial end of the

dorsal venous network of hand The dorsal venous network of the hand is a venous network on the Dorsum (anatomy), dorsum (backside) of hand. It is formed by the dorsal metacarpal veins (three in number), a dorsal digital vein from the radial (lateral) side of the index finger ...

, and ascends along the radial (lateral) side of the arm before emptying into the axillary vein. At the elbow, it communicates with the basilic vein via the median cubital vein.

Anatomy

The cephalic vein is situated within the superficial fascia along the anterolateral surface of the

biceps 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 heads of the muscle arise on the scapula and join to form a single muscle bel ...

Origin

The cephalic vein forms at the roof of the anatomical snuffbox at the radial end of the

Course and relations

From its origin, it ascends up the lateral aspect of the

radius In classical geometry, a radius (: radii or radiuses) of a circle or sphere is any of the line segments from its Centre (geometry), center to its perimeter, and in more modern usage, it is also their length. The radius of a regular polygon is th ...

. Near the shoulder, the cephalic vein passes between the deltoid and pectoralis major

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 ( deltopectoral groove) through the clavipectoral triangle, where it empties into the axillary vein.

Anastomoses

It communicates with the basilic vein via the median cubital vein at the

elbow The elbow is the region between the upper arm and the forearm that surrounds the elbow joint. The elbow includes prominent landmarks such as the olecranon, the cubital fossa (also called the chelidon, or the elbow pit), and the lateral and t ...

Clinical significance

The cephalic vein is often visible through the

skin Skin is the layer of usually soft, flexible outer tissue covering the body of a vertebrate animal, with three main functions: protection, regulation, and sensation. Other animal coverings, such as the arthropod exoskeleton, have different ...

, and its location in the deltopectoral groove is fairly consistent, making this site a good candidate for venous access. Permanent pacemaker leads are often placed in the cephalic vein in the deltopectoral groove. The vein may be used for intravenous access, as large bore

cannula A cannula (; Latin meaning 'little reed'; : cannulae or cannulas) is a tube that can be inserted into the body, often for the delivery or removal of fluid or for the gathering of samples. In simple terms, a cannula can surround the inner or out ...

may be easily placed. However, the cannulation of a vein as close to the radial nerve as the cephalic vein can sometimes lead to nerve damage.

History

Ordinarily the term '' cephalic'' refers to anatomy of the head. When the Persian Muslim physician Ibn Sīnā's Canon was translated into

medieval Latin Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. It was also the administrative language in the former Western Roman Empire, Roman Provinces of Mauretania, Numidi ...

, ''cephalic'' was mistakenly chosen to render the

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

term , meaning "outer". In other words, there was a mistranslation, where "cephalic" was incorrectly used to represent the term "al-kífal."

Additional images

File:Gray417_color.PNG, Cross-section through the middle of the forearm File:Gray575.png, The deep veins of the upper extremity File:Gray413_color.png, Cross-section through the middle of upper arm
(cephalic vein labeled at upper left) File:Slide7yyy.JPG, Cephalic vein File:Slide16yyy.JPG, Cephalic vein

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Anatomy Veins of the upper limb Human surface anatomy Cardiovascular system Circulatory system