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Basilic vein



Vein: Basilic vein
The veins of the right axilla, viewed from in front.
Superficial veins of the upper limb.
Gray's subject #172 662
Source dorsal venous network of hand
Drains to axillary vein
Dorlands/Elsevier v_05/12849612

In human anatomy, the basilic vein is a large superficial vein of the upper limb that helps drain parts of hand and forearm. It originates on the medial (ulnar) side of the dorsal venous network of the hand, and it travels up the base of the forearm and arm. Most of its course is superficial; it generally travels in the fat and other fasciae that lie superficial to the muscles of the upper extremity. Because of this, it is usually visible through the skin.

Near the region anterior to the cubital fossa, in the bend of the elbow joint, the basilic vein usually connects with the other large superficial vein of the upper extremity, the cephalic vein, via the median cubital vein. The layout of superficial veins in the forearm is highly variable from person to person, and there are generally a variety of other unnamed superficial veins that the basilic vein communicates with.

About halfway up the arm proper (the part between the shoulder and elbow), the basilic vein goes deep, travelling under the muscles. There, around the lower border of the teres major muscle, the anterior and posterior circumflex humeral veins feed into it, just before it joins the brachial veins to form the axillary vein.

Along with other superficial veins in the forearm, the basilic vein is a possible site for venipuncture.

Additional images

See also

 
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Basilic_vein". A list of authors is available in Wikipedia.
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