DOPPLER ULTRASONOGRAPHY OF NORMAL NECK VEINS

Doppler ultrasonography was used to examine 198 neck-vein systems (67 right, 131 left) in 148 patients. The vessel lumen is usually echo-fre e: the veins are supple, and the internal jugular and sometimes the su bclavian veins can be compressed. The venous confluence is Y-shaped. B lood flow was symmetrical and biphasic in 57% of cases, continuous in 29% of cases, and monophasic in 13% of cases. Blood flow velocity was less than 1 m/s in all cases and varied with respiration and heart rat e. Color Doppler allows flow imaging and increases the speed and relia bility of the procedure. This investigation is useful for following-up patients with indwelling venous catheters and is the investigation of choice whenever pathology of the neck veins is suspected. (C) 1994 Jo hn Wiley and Sons, Inc.