| name: | Distended Jugular Vein |
| also known as: | Enlarged Jugular Vein; Jugular Vein Distention; Distended Neck Veins; Big Blue |
| description: | The jugular vein, also called "big blue" lives in the neck and travels from the brain to the heart carrying deoxygenated blood back to the heart. Causes of jugular vein distention include obstruction such as from an enlarged thyroid gland (euthyroid goiter), valsalva, superior vena cava syndrome, pericarditis, cardiac tamponade, tricuspid regurgitation, atrial myxoma, pulmonary hypertension, cor pulmonale, cardiomyopathy, exercise, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pneumothorax, as well as other causes. If the jugular vein in the neck is called "big blue" then the carotid artery in the neck is called "big red" (surgery resident talk). |
Last updated 5/3/2005