[Diagnostic importance of the jugular veins]

Inspection, auscultation and doppler-sonographic examination of the jugular veins may give a clue for diagnosis of cardiac diseases. Angiological diseases include isolated thrombosis of the jugular vein and congenital ectasia. The neck veins are enlarged with thrombosis of the major upper extremity veins, if the orifice of the subclavian vein is also occluded and the normal outflow of the jugular vein is impeded. Thrombosis of the superior vena cava, compression of the mediastinal trunks by tumors, fibrosis or pericardial alterations causes dilatation of neck veins on both sides, best seen in the jugular veins.