head and neck
Last reviewed 01/2018
The anterior cardinal veins are a pair of vessels which drain the cephalic portion of the early embryo. Eventually, they form the internal jugular and subclavian veins. There is a linking vessel between the left and right anterior cardinal veins; this finally forms the left brachiocephalic vein.
The anterior and posterior cardinal veins merge to form the common cardinal veins. The common cardinal veins join the vitelline and umbilical veins to enter the sinus venosus of the primitive heart.