retromandibular vein in dogs

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 unites with the anterior facial vein to form the common facial vein. a posterior, which is joined by the posterior auricular vein and becomes the external jugular vein. [WP,unvetted]. Every claim on this page comes from the Leumas anatomy graph and carries its source.

What the retromandibular vein is

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 unites with the anterior facial vein to form the common facial vein. a posterior, which is joined by the posterior auricular vein and becomes the external jugular vein. [WP,unvetted]. The atlas records it as a vein at the organ scale in the dog.

Where the retromandibular vein is

It sits in the head, within the cardiovascular system. Only the region is known. The position shown is somewhere plausible inside it and nothing more.

What the retromandibular vein connects to

The atlas records 7 typed relationships for it, across 2 kinds of connection. a kind of facial vein.

Supply and innervation

Venous drainage: external jugular vein, anterior auricular vein, maxillary vein, middle temporal vein, superficial temporal vein and transverse facial vein.

Also called

Also recorded as posterior facial vein, vena facialis posterior and vena retromandibularis. Searching any of those names reaches this page.

Source

Uberon multi-species anatomy ontology (Mungall et al.), CC BY 4.0. Term UBERON:0001656, version 2026-06-19, retrieved 2026-08-24. Licence: CC-BY-4.0.

• A kind of: facial vein.
• drains to: external jugular vein, anterior auricular vein, maxillary vein, middle temporal vein, superficial temporal vein and transverse facial vein.

Questions

Where is the retromandibular vein?

It sits in the head, within the cardiovascular system. Only the region is known. The position shown is somewhere plausible inside it and nothing more.

What does the retromandibular vein connect to?

A kind of: facial vein.

Is the retromandibular vein the same in other species?

This page describes the dog. The human record of the same structure sits beside it on /compare, over one shared model rather than two atlases built separately.