noun
: any of several veins of each side of the neck: as
a. : a vein in man that collects the blood from the interior of the cranium, the superficial part of the face, and the neck, runs down the neck on the outside of the internal and common carotid arteries, and uniting with the subclavian forms the innominate vein — called also internal jugular vein
b. : a smaller and more superficial vein in man that collects most of the blood from the exterior of the cranium and deep parts of the face and opens into the subclavian vein — called also external jugular vein
c. : a vein in man that commences near the hyoid bone and joins the terminal part of the external jugular or the subclavian — called also anterior jugular vein