cephalic vein

A superficial vein of the upper limb that communicates with the basilic vein via the median cubital vein at the elbow and is located in the superficial fascia along the anterolateral surface of the biceps brachii muscle. Superiorly the cephalic vein passes between the deltoid and pectoralis major muscles and through the deltopectoral triangle, where it empties into the axillary vein. It is often visible through the skin, and its location in the deltopectoral groove is fairly consistent, making this site a good candidate for cannulation. It is often referred to as the 'House-man's Friend' for this reason and is generally a good place for cannulaton when a large bore cannula needs to be sited. [WP,modified]. Every claim on this page comes from the Leumas anatomy graph and carries its source.

What the cephalic vein is

A superficial vein of the upper limb that communicates with the basilic vein via the median cubital vein at the elbow and is located in the superficial fascia along the anterolateral surface of the biceps brachii muscle. Superiorly the cephalic vein passes between the deltoid and pectoralis major muscles and through the deltopectoral triangle, where it empties into the axillary vein. It is often visible through the skin, and its location in the deltopectoral groove is fairly consistent, making this site a good candidate for cannulation. It is often referred to as the 'House-man's Friend' for this reason and is generally a good place for cannulaton when a large bore cannula needs to be sited. [WP,modified]. The atlas records it as a vein at the organ scale in the human body.

Where the cephalic vein is

It sits in the upper limb, within the cardiovascular system. Positioned deliberately as part of this species body plan.

What the cephalic vein connects to

The atlas records 12 typed relationships for it, across 3 kinds of connection. part of anatomical structure, appendage girdle complex and arm, and 5 more.

Supply and innervation

Venous drainage: axillary vein and subclavian vein.

Also called

Also recorded as cephalic vein of forearm, vena cephalica antebrachii and vena cephalica. Searching any of those names reaches this page.

Source

Uberon multi-species anatomy ontology (Mungall et al.), CC BY 4.0. Term UBERON:0001106, version 2026-06-19, retrieved 2026-08-24. Licence: CC-BY-4.0.

Questions

Where is the cephalic vein?

It sits in the upper limb, within the cardiovascular system. Positioned deliberately as part of this species body plan.

What does the cephalic vein connect to?

Part of: anatomical structure, appendage girdle complex, arm, forelimb, limb and organism subdivision, and 2 more.

Is the cephalic vein the same in other species?

Leumas holds the same relationship vocabulary for every species it carries, so where another dataset records this structure you can put the two side by side on /compare.