Retromandibular vein

Posterior facial vein
Veins of the head and neck (retromandibular vein visible at center).
Dissection, showing salivary glands of right side (retromandibular vein visible at bottom center).
Details
Source	Superficial temporal vein, maxillary veins
Drains to	External jugular vein
Artery	Facial artery
Identifiers
Latin	Vena retromandibularis, vena facialis posterior
Dorlands /Elsevier	v_05/12851638
TA	A12.3.05.031
FMA	50928
*Anatomical terminology*

The retromandibular vein (temporomaxillary vein, posterior facial vein), formed by the union of the superficial temporal and maxillary veins, descends in the substance of the parotid gland, superficial to the external carotid artery but beneath the facial nerve, between the ramus of the mandible and the sternocleidomastoideus muscle.

It divides into two branches:

an anterior, which passes forward and joins anterior facial vein, to form the common facial vein, which then drains into the internal jugular vein.
a posterior, which is joined by the posterior auricular vein and becomes the external jugular vein.

Parrot's sign is a sensation of pain when pressure is applied to the retromandibular region.

Additional images

This article incorporates text in the public domain from the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918)

Anatomy photo:27:13-0103 at the SUNY Downstate Medical Center - "Infratemporal fossa: The Pterygoid plexus of Veins"
lesson4 at The Anatomy Lesson by Wesley Norman (Georgetown University) (parotid2)
Tufts.edu

Retromandibular	maxillary pterygoid plexus superficial temporal anterior auricular
Direct	posterior auricular transverse cervical suprascapular anterior jugular jugular venous arch

Superficial:	superior superficial middle inferior inferior anastomotic (Labbé) superior anastomotic (Trolard)
Deep:	great internal basal deep middle superior thalamostriate

To COS	superior sagittal straight inferior sagittal occipital
To CS	sphenoparietal intercavernous superior ophthalmic ethmoidal central retinal nasofrontal vorticose veins inferior ophthalmic
To IJV	sigmoid: transverse petrosquamous superior petrosal inferior petrosal basilar plexus internal auditory veins condylar

Direct

Vertebral	occipital occipital emissary suboccipital venous plexus deep cervical
Direct	inferior thyroid inferior laryngeal thymic

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