cephalic vein

{{Infobox vein

| Name = Cephalic vein

| Latin = vena cephalica

| Image = 2134 Thoracic Upper Limb Veins.jpg

| Caption = Veins of the upper limb

| Image2 = Sobo 1909 597.png

| Caption2 = The most frequent variations of the veins of the forearm

| DrainsFrom = Dorsal venous network of hand

| DrainsTo = Axillary vein and median cubital vein

| Artery = Deltoid branch of thoracoacromial artery

}}

In human anatomy, the cephalic vein (also called the antecubital vein){{Cite journal |last1=Maalman |first1=Raymond Saa-Eru |last2=Donkor |first2=Yaw Otchere |last3=Ayamba |first3=Ali M. |last4=Abledu |first4=Jubilant Kwame |date=2018-02-21 |title=A Rare Anatomical Variation of the Termination of Right and Left Cephalic Veins |journal=Case Reports in Vascular Medicine |volume=2018 |pages=5809656 |doi=10.1155/2018/5809656 |doi-access=free |issn=2090-6986 |pmc=5841078 |pmid=29682393}} is a superficial vein 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, 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.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}

= Origin =

The cephalic vein forms at the roof of the anatomical snuffbox at the radial end of the dorsal venous network of hand.{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1201341621 |title=Gray's anatomy : the anatomical basis of clinical practice |date=2021 |others=Susan Standring |isbn=978-0-7020-7707-4 |edition=Forty-second |location=[New York] |pages= |oclc=1201341621}}{{Rp|page=983}}

= Course and relations =

From its origin, it ascends up the lateral aspect of the radius.{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1201341621 |title=Gray's anatomy : the anatomical basis of clinical practice |date=2021 |others=Susan Standring |isbn=978-0-7020-7707-4 |edition=Forty-second |location=[New York] |pages= |oclc=1201341621}}

Near the shoulder, the cephalic vein passes between the deltoid and pectoralis major muscles (deltopectoral groove) through the clavipectoral triangle, where it empties into the axillary vein.{{Citation |last=Jobe |first=Christopher M. |title=Gross Anatomy of the Shoulder |date=2017 |work=Rockwood and Matsen's the Shoulder |pages=35–94.e4 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-323-29731-8.00002-7 |access-date=2024-08-24 |publisher=Elsevier |isbn=978-0-323-29731-8 |last2=Phipatanakul |first2=Wesley P. |last3=Petkovic |first3=Djuro}}

= Anastomoses =

It communicates with the basilic vein via the median cubital vein at the elbow.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}

Clinical significance

The cephalic vein is often visible through the skin, 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 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.{{medical citation needed|date=July 2023}}

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, cephalic was mistakenly chosen to render the Arabic term {{Transliteration|ar|al-kífal}}, meaning "outer". In other words, there was a mistranslation, where "cephalic" was incorrectly used to represent the term "al-kífal."{{cite book|last=Diab|first=Mohammad|title=Lexicon of orthopaedic etymology|year=1999|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-90-5702-597-6|pages=54}}{{cite web|last=Swenson|first=Rand|title=Etymology of shoulder and arm terms|url=http://www.dartmouth.edu/~humananatomy/resources/etymology/Shoulder_arm.htm|publisher=© O'Rahilly 2008|location=Dartmouth Medical School|accessdate=20 April 2011|archive-date=October 3, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171003070929/http://www.dartmouth.edu/~humananatomy/resources/etymology/Shoulder_arm.htm|url-status=dead}}