The cephalic vein is formed by the upward continuation of the medial metacarpal vein. It passes subcutaneously upward and forwards in an oblique manner on the medial face of the forearm then upward in the arm to about its middle and is connected with the median vein by an anastomotic branch, medial cubital vein.
It then runs in the groove between the brachiocephalicus and anterior superficial pectoral inwards and terminates by joining the external jugular vein in front of its termination.
The accessory cephalic vein lies on the dorsal surface of the carpus and is a tributary of the cephalic vein.
It is formed by the dorsal metacarpal vein.
