Subclavian Vein

[JetL011]

Hello there,

I've been Googling the term "subclavian vein" and I haven't found a concise definition of what it does. However, here's my educated guess:

Since the subclavian artery brings aerated blood to the neck and arms, would the subclavian vein just return unaerated blood from the neck and arms to the aorta which in turn goes to the right atrium of the heart?

Could someone please tell me if my educated guess is correct? Thank you very much!

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[Hallm_7]

This really isn't the best forum for your question. You'll get better responses in the pre-med forums. Here's my answer:

The subclavian is the continuation of the axillary vein (in your armpit that drains a large portion of your arm) after the cephalic vein joins it (which also drains a large part of your arm). The subclavian is just behind your clavicle (collar bone) and will join up with the jugular veins (that drain your head and neck) to form the brachiocephalic veins (aka inominate veins). The brachiocephalic veins are short and the right and left brachiocephalic veins join together to create the superior vena cava. The superior vena cava (along with the inferior vena cava which drains everything from your chest down) flows into the right atrium. With the exception of a one vein pair in the body (I'll let you think about which vein pair that is) all veins carry deoxygenated blood back to the heart.

The subclavian is one of the most important veins clinically because it is often used to pass central venous catheters into the vena cava or right atrium so that certain medications can be given.

Here's a link to a picture of the major veins in the body:
http://www.bg.ic.ac.uk/Staff/khparker/homepage/BSc_lectures/2002/Venous_anatomy.jpg