Unilateral fenestration of the internal jugular vein: a case report.

The internal jugular vein (IJV) is a significant landmark that is encountered during dissection of the cervical lymph nodes in oncological surgery, central venous catheter insertion and interventional radiological procedures. The variations in the patterns of its course, and knowledge of these variations, are important. During the neck dissection of an approximately 75-year-old male cadaver, unilateral fenestration of the IJV, the medial branch of which received the submental and linguofacial veins, was found--a case that hitherto has not been reported. An embryological evaluation and the clinical implications of the anomaly are described. Clinicians and surgeons performing neck vascular or reconstructive surgery should be made aware of this variation of the IJV in the hope of preventing inadvertent injury.