Vein: Posterior auricular vein
Veins of the head and neck. (Posterior auricular visible behind ear.)
Lateral head anatomy detail
Latin	v. auricularis posterior
Gray's	subject #167 646
Drains from	scalp
Drains to	external jugular vein
Artery	posterior auricular artery

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The posterior auricular vein begins upon the side of the head, in a plexus which communicates with the tributaries of the occipital vein and superficial temporal veins.

It descends behind the auricula, and joins the posterior division of the posterior facial vein to form the external jugular.

It receive the stylomastoid vein, and some tributaries from the cranial surface of the auricula.

[edit] External links

• lesson4 at The Anatomy Lesson by Wesley Norman (Georgetown University) (parotid2)

This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained within it may be outdated.

v • d • e Veins (emissary, jugular and others) of head and neck (drainage patterns can vary) (TA A12.3.04-06, GA 7.644) External jugular Retromandibular maxillary (pterygoid plexus) · superficial temporal (anterior auricular) Direct posterior auricular transverse cervical · suprascapular · anterior jugular (jugular venous arch) Internal jugular Diploic/brain Cerebral Superficial cerebral veins: superior · superficial middle · inferior Deep cerebral veins: great · internal (basal, deep middle, superior thalamostriate) Cerebellar superior · inferior Sinuses To COS superior sagittal · straight (inferior sagittal) · occipital To CS sphenoparietal · intercavernous superior ophthalmic (ethmoidal, central retinal, nasofrontal, vorticose veins) · inferior ophthalmic To IJV sigmoid: transverse (petrosquamous) · superior petrosal inferior petrosal (basilar plexus, internal auditory veins) · condylar Facial/common facial frontal · supraorbital · angular · superior labial · inferior labial · deep facial Direct lingual (dorsal lingual, deep lingual, sublingual) · pharyngeal · superior thyroid (superior laryngeal) · middle thyroid Brachiocephalic Vertebral occipital (occipital emissary) · suboccipital venous plexus deep cervical Direct inferior thyroid (inferior laryngeal) · thymic

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