In order to help avoid complications of parotid surgery, we investigat
ed the relationship between the facial nerve and the retromandibular v
ein. Fifty dissections were performed on 30 cadavers. In 45 (90%) of t
he cases the retromandibular vein was located on the medial side of th
e upper and lower trunks of the facial nerve, and in 5 (10%), the cour
se of the retromandibular vein was lateral to the lower trunks and med
ial to the upper trunks, These variations were divided into subgroups.
The most commonly encountered variation was that the retromandibular
vein crossed the facial nerve from the medial (34 cases) or lateral si
de (3 cases) at a point between the bifurcation and ramification point
s of the lower facial trunk. In one case, the retromandibular vein was
detected on the lateral side of the facial nerve at the bifurcation.
In 3 cases (15%), the course of the retromandibular vein was different
on the right and left sides of the face in the same cadaver.