Anatomic Relationship of the InternalJugular Vein and the Common Carotid Artery Applied to Percutaneous Transjugular Procedures

Abstract

Knowledge of the IJV anatomy and relationship to the CCA is important information for the operator performing an IJV puncture, to potentially reduce the chance of laceration of the CCA and avoid placement of a large catheter within a critical artery, even when ultrasound guidance is used.

Dimensions of internal jugular veins in Turkish children aged between 0 and 6 years in resting state and during Valsalva maneuver

“…These rates were 4%, 16%, 71%, and 9% for the right IJV, respectively. In only one of the patients, IJV was found to be medial to the artery [15].…”

Ultrasound-Guided Central Venous Cannulation in Bariatric Patients

“…We were able to detect pre-existing thromboses, small diameter IJVs, and atypical IJV location. Anatomical variations in the position of the IJV have been shown in a high percentage of general population by ultrasound imaging [18,19]. It is not unusual that the IJV is partly or fully superficial to the carotid artery, which makes accidental arterial puncture a possible risk.…”

Anatomical relationship of the internal jugular vein and the common carotid artery in Korean : A computed tomographic evaluation

“…SR30 to the contralateral side resulted in anterior venal shift [2,3,6,8,[11][12][13][14][15][16]. These studies have shown that the IJV is commonly positioned lateral or anterolateral to the CCA, and the incidence of overlap was reported to be between 6 and 95%, depending on the method of calculation.…”

“…The classic Sedillot triangle, which is formed by external landmarks (the clavicle and both heads of the sternocleidomastoid), has been commonly used for IJV punctures for decades. Both this triangle and the relationship of the IJV to the common carotid artery (CCA) are well known, and this landmark-guided technique is performed on the assumption that the IJV is usually situated laterally to the CCA [1,2]. Although there is a high success rate (95%) when these landmarks are used [3], unexpected positional or anatomic variations of the CCA could result in inadvertent puncture of the CCA; this occurs in 3 to 10.6% of cases [4,5].…”