Inferior ophthalmic vein

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Vein: Inferior ophthalmic vein
Veins of orbit.
Latin	vena ophthalmica inferior
Gray's	subject #171 659
Source	vorticose veins
Drains to	superior ophthalmic vein, cavernous sinus
Artery	ophthalmic artery
Dorlands / Elsevier	v_05/12851157

The inferior ophthalmic vein begins in a venous net-work at the forepart of the floor and medial wall of the orbit; it receives some vorticose veins and other veins from the Rectus inferior, Obliquus inferior, lacrimal sac and eyelids, runs backward in the lower part of the orbit and divides into two branches.

One of these passes through the inferior orbital fissure and joins the pterygoid venous plexus, while the other enters the cranium through the superior orbital fissure and ends in the cavernous sinus, either by a separate opening, or more frequently in common with the superior ophthalmic vein.

This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated. Please edit the article if this is the case, and feel free to remove this notice when it is no longer relevant.

v • d • e Veins (emissary, jugular and others) and sinuses of head and neck (drainage patterns can vary) to external jugular retromandibular: maxillary • superficial temporal (anterior auricular) posterior auricular transverse cervical - suprascapular - anterior jugular (jugular venous arch) to internal jugular Diploic/brain cerebral: superior • middle • inferior • great • internal (basal, superior thalamostriate) cerebellar: superior • inferior To COS: superior sagittal • straight (inferior sagittal) • occipital To CS: sphenoparietal • intercavernous superior ophthalmic (ethmoidal, central retinal, nasofrontal) • inferior ophthalmic • vorticose veins To IJV: sigmoid: transverse (petrosquamous) • superior petrosal inferior petrosal (basilar plexus, internal auditory veins) - condylar Other common facial • facial (frontal, supraorbital, angular, superior labial, inferior labial, deep facial) • pterygoid plexus lingual (dorsal lingual, deep lingual, sublingual) • pharyngeal • thyroid (superior/superior laryngeal, middle) to vertebral vein occipital (occipital)  • suboccipital venous plexus deep cervical to brachiocephalic inferior thyroid (inferior laryngeal) - thymic