Duplicated internal jugular vein: a case report

Abstract

Anatomical variants of the venous central system are very infrequent; nevertheless, it is useful to be aware of them in order to avoid complications during common procedures. The purpose of the present study is to describe an anatomical variant of the Right Internal Jugular Vein (RIJV), and to investigate the frequency of this variant reported in the current literature. Authors present an anatomical variant of RIJV, found during the dissection of an adult male cadaver, previously fixed in a formaldehyde-based solution, who was voluntarily donated to the Faculty of Medicine of Universidad de la República in Montevideo, Uruguay. The cadaveric material was used taking into account the Helsinki Declaration regarding prior live donation and informed consent. A photographic record and a bibliographic search in electronic bases were carried out in order to discover the frequency with which this variant occurs. It was described as an isolated duplicated RIJV, which had its origin at the level of the right jugular foramen, and had its division next to the thyroid cartilage after a path of 6.5 cm into two branches (anteromedial and posterolateral) that ended separately, and were 7.2 cm and 5.4 cm in length, respectively. The relations with near structures such as the accessory nerve and the omohyoid muscle were also described and compared with the literature reviewed.