Complex cervical venous drainage with a common facial-paralaryngeal anastomosis receiving the superior thyroid vein.
Mugurel Constantin Rusu, Adelina Maria Jianu, Laura Octavia Grigoriţă et al.
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Case in brief
A 68-year-old woman’s archived CT angiogram showed a complex right cervical venous arrangement. The common facial vein and a separate lingual–parapharyngeal–paralaryngeal channel each drained into the right internal jugular vein and were linked by an anastomotic arch. The superior thyroid vein arose from the left half of the thyroid isthmus, crossed to the right behind the right anterior jugular vein, and joined the arch. Additional findings were fenestration of the right external jugular vein and an anastomosis between a posterior external jugular vein and the transverse cervical vein.
What made this case unusual
The superior thyroid vein crossed the midline to join an arch connecting two distinct venous pathways, while both pathways terminated separately in the right internal jugular vein. The authors emphasize that this arrangement does not establish duplication of a thyrolinguofacial trunk.
Diagnostic / clinical pearl
Trace each channel’s tributaries, connections, and jugular termination before labeling a complex cervical venous pattern as a duplicated trunk.
Why it matters
Recognizing these connections on imaging may assist interpretation and surgical planning.