Resumen de Case reports with special reference to the innervation, development and clinical significance of the subclavius posticus and the termination of the facial vein in South Indian cadavers
Suganthy J. Rabi, Chintha Madhavi
During the routine dissection of the head and neck, a variation in the termination of the common facial vein was noticed in two (a male aged 93 years and a female aged 53 years) South Indian cadavers. In the male, an accessory muscle, the subclavius posticus was also observed in the left posterior triangle. The muscle was attached posteriorly to the superior angle and the adjoining part of the superior border of the scapula along with the attachment of the inferior belly of the omohyoid muscle. Anteriorly, the muscle was attached to the first costal cartilage. On its course, this muscle crossed the brachial plexus and subclavian vessels anteriorly and was innervated by the suprascapular nerve. The relationship of this muscle to the neurovascular structures in the neck should be borne in mind while accessing the thoracic outlet syndrome. In addition to this, the common facial vein joined the external jugular vein on the left side. In the female cadaver the termination of the common facial vein was also into the external jugular vein on the left side, but no accessory muscle was found. Knowledge of the variation of the vein is important for the intravenous canulation, for therapeutic or diagnostic purposes, and for the surgeons performing reconstructive surgery.
