Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Human anatomy (Volume 2). Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)
15/684
![Besides these, a branch of considerable size joins the temporal vein in the substance of the parotid gland; this is the internal maxillary vein, fig. 256, e, [v. maxillaris interna.] It corresponds somewhat in direction and position with the artery of the same name, and receives branches from the neighbouring parts, which are the venae comites of the divisions of the internal maxillary artery. Thus three or four deep temporal branches descend from the temporal muscle; others come from the pterygoid, masseter, and buccinator muscles. The middle meningeal veins and some palatine veins also end in the in- ternal maxillary; and lastly, branches from the surface of the upper jaw, and, of large size, from the lower jaw, emerging from the dental foramen (inferior dental). These different branches form a plexus of veins, named pterygoid plexus, which is placed in the lower part of the temporal fossa, between the temporal and the external pterygoid muscle, and in part between the pterygoid muscles. It communicates in front with the deep facial vein, and above, with the cavernous sinus by branches through the base of the skull. From this plexus proceed one or two short trunks (internal maxillary) which join nearly at right angles with the temporal vein. The vessel formed by the junction of these different veins from the temple, maxilla, and face, may be called the temporo-maxillary vein; it descends in the interval between the ramus of the jaw and the sterno- mastoid muscle, and terminates in the external jugular vein,/, or partly in it and partly in the internal jugular vein. EXTERNAL JUGULAR VEIN. The external jugular vein, fig. 256,/, [v. jugularis externa] com- mences on a level with the angle of the lower maxilla, at the end of the temporo-maxillary vein, and therefore receives the greater part of the blood returned from the face and outside of the cranium. The external jugular vein descends perpendicularly between the platysma and sterno-mastoid muscles. In consequence of the oblique direction forwards of the last-named muscle, the vein gets to its outer border, close by which it continues down to the lower part of the neck, where it inclines inwards behind the muscle, to terminate (either as a single trunk, or by two or three branches) in the subclavian vein, m, near its junction with the internal jugular. In this course it receives one or two large branches from the back of the neck ; one of these, g, (poste- rior external jugular,) lying at first between the splenius and trapezius, passes down at the outside of the jugular vein, and below the middle of the neck opens into it. Superficial branches also join it from the fore part of the neck. Some of these commence over the submaxil- lary gland, and some under the chin; by converging, they often form a vein of considerable size, h, which is then called the anterior jugular vein. This vessel lies along the fore part of the neck, sometimes near the sterno-mastoid muscle, and terminates either by inclining outwards to join the external jugular vein, or, after giving to it a branch of communication, sinks beneath the sterno-mastoid muscle, and ends in the internal jugular vein. Previously to the termination of the external jugular vein, two large veins open into it, derived from the region of](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21148879_0015.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
