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Dorsal venous network of hand: anatomy, location and function

The dorsal venous network is a superficial venous plexus on the back of the hand. It drains the dorsum of the hand and fingers.

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Structures

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Highlighted in the model: Dorsal venous network of hand. Click any part to read about it, or switch off “Highlight topic” to see the whole body. 3D data: BodyParts3D, © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0; meshes simplified and recoloured. The model is an adult male.

Dorsal venous network of hand at a glance

What it is
The dorsal venous network is a superficial venous plexus on the back of the hand.
Location
It lies in the subcutaneous tissue over the metacarpals. Its lateral side drains into the cephalic vein and its medial side into the basilic vein.
Function
It drains the dorsum of the hand and fingers.
Body system
Cardiovascular · paired (left and right)
FMA ID
FMA62507 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)

Key facts

  • It is often used for intravenous cannulation.

Structures next to the dorsal venous network of hand

The nearest named structures in the 3D model, measured from the centre of each part:

References

  1. Foundational Model of Anatomy: Dorsal venous network of hand (FMA62507). EMBL-EBI Ontology Lookup Service.
  2. OpenStax. Anatomy and Physiology 2e, §20.1 Structure and Function of Blood Vessels. Rice University, 2022.
  3. Mitsuhashi N. et al. (2009). BodyParts3D: 3D structure database for anatomical concepts. Nucleic Acids Research 37, D782–D785. Data © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0.

Related anatomy

Explore the whole body in the interactive 3D human anatomy model, or browse the A–Z list of human structures.