Because of its direct route to the heart, the right internal jugular vein is the preferred site to evaluate the jugular venous pulse. At the bedside, we do not actually visualize the internal jugular vein itself. Rather, the movement we observe in the neck is within the soft tissue that overly the internal jugular vein. The tissue transmits the pulsation of the internal jugular vein, allowing us to characterize its height (quantitative assessment) and contour (qualitative assessment).

Patient 1:

A healthy young woman volunteered to have her neck examined. She has a normal jugular venous pressure and waveform. These videos demonstrate the evaluation of the jugular venous pulse using the right internal jugular vein, the preferred location.