CEPHALIC Vein, in Anatomy, creeps along the arm between the skin and the muscles, and divides it into two branches; the external goes down to the wrist, where it joins the basilica, and turns up to the back of the hand; the internal branch, together with a small one of the basilica, makes the mediana.

The ancients used to open this vein for disorders of the head, for which reason it bears this name; but a better acquaintance with the circulation of the blood informs us that there is no foundation for such a notion.