title: A rare case of anastomosis between the external and internal jugular veins.
abstract: Jugular veins bring deoxygenated blood from the head back to the heart. There are two sets of external and internal veins. The external jugular vein receives the greater part of the blood from the cranium and the deep parts of the face. It commences from the substance of the parotid gland and runs down the neck at the posterior border of sternocleidomastoideus and ends in the subclavian vein in front of the scalenus anterior. The external jugular vein is covered by the platysma and its upper half runs parallel with the great auricular nerve. There is also another minor jugular vein, the anterior, draining the submaxillary region. In our patient, we recognized a shunt between the external and internal jugular veins. It appeared in the middle of the veins, between the pair of valves, which are placed ~2.5 cm above the termination of the vessel. The anastomosis was fully functional, and there was no problem in the blood pressure of the patient. Moreover, the shunt was not associated with any systemic disease.
authors.affiliation: Ear, Nose and Throat Department, "Saint Luke" Private Hospital, Panorama, Greece.
authors.forename: Ilias
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Karapantzos
authors.affiliation: Pulmonary Department, "G. Papanikolaou" General Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zarogoulidis
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Democritus University of Thrace, Alexandroupolis, Greece.
authors.forename: Charalampos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Charalampidis
authors.affiliation: Ear, Nose and Throat Department, "Saint Luke" Private Hospital, Panorama, Greece.
authors.forename: Chrysanthi
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Karapantzou
authors.affiliation: Pulmonary Department, "G. Papanikolaou" General Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Ioannis
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kioumis
authors.affiliation: Cardiothoracic Surgery Department, "Saint Luke" Private Hospital, Panorama, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Kosmas
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tsakiridis
authors.affiliation: Cardiothoracic Surgery Department, "Saint Luke" Private Hospital, Panorama, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mpakas
authors.affiliation: Cardiothoracic Surgery Department, "Saint Luke" Private Hospital, Panorama, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Nikolaos
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sachpekidis
authors.affiliation: Pulmonary Department, "G. Papanikolaou" General Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Organtzis
authors.affiliation: Pulmonary Department, "G. Papanikolaou" General Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Konstantinos
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Porpodis
authors.affiliation: Pulmonary Department, "G. Papanikolaou" General Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Konstantinos
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zarogoulidis
authors.affiliation: Pulmonary Department, "G. Papanikolaou" General Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Georgia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pitsiou
authors.affiliation: Nuclear Medicine Department, University General Hospital of Alexandroupolis, Democritus University of Thrace, Alexandroupolis, Greece.
authors.forename: Athanasios
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zissimopoulos
authors.affiliation: Surgery Department, "Interbalkan" European Medical Center, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Christoforos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kosmidis
authors.affiliation: Pulmonary Department, "G. Papanikolaou" General Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Evagelia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fouka
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Democritus University of Thrace, Alexandroupolis, Greece.
authors.forename: Theodoros
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Demetriou
keywords: anastomosis; jugular veins; parotid gland