‘Kashmir is our jugular vein’ said Pakistan Army Chief: Understanding the major blood vessels that sustain the human brain!

In the backdrop of the dreadful terror attack targeting tourists in Pahalgam, Pakistan Army chief General Asim Munir's recent anti-India rhetoric is in the news yet again. In a recent speech, General Munir had described Kashmir as Pakistan’s “jugular vein,” a statement that many believe to have triggered the Lashkar-e-Taiba-linked, The Resistance Front (TRF) to launch the cowardly strike.

“Our stance is absolutely clear, it (J&K) was our jugular vein, it will be our jugular vein, we will not forget it. We will not leave our Kashmiri brothers in their heroic struggle,”  Pakistan's Army chief had said.

FULL REPORT | Forefathers thought we were different from Hindus, claims Pakistan Army chief as he calls Kashmir 'jugular vein'

“Jugular vein” has become one of the most-Googled words in India, Google Trends showed. They are blood vessels in the neck that carry deoxygenated blood from the head and neck back to the heart.  Here is what you need to know about the veins that are a vital part of the circulatory system of the human body.  

The jugular veins are major blood vessels of the human body that stretch from the head to the upper chest region. They are vital because they are involved in ensuring oxygen supply into the brain and then to the rest of the body. They are linked to the superior vena cava, the large vein that returns deoxygenated blood from the body to the heart.

The role of jugular veins 

The human brain consumes about 15% to 20% of the blood that a heart pumps out. "Once the blood delivers the oxygen to the brain and other parts of your head, it needs to return to the heart to make way for incoming blood. It does that by travelling through the jugular veins. Those veins ensure that blood flows smoothly and continuously to and from your brain," my.clevelandclinic.org said about jugular veins on its website.

Types of jugular veins 

There are three pairs of jugular veins and six of them are responsible for taking blood from different areas of the head towards the heart.

According to medical websites, "Exterior jugular veins" ensure the blood flow returns from areas outside the skull while "Interior jugular veins" allow blood from the brain to return to the chest. They stretch from inside your skull and reach either side of your spine and are larger in size than the external veins. The third category is called "Anterior jugular veins." They are the smallest of the lot and are located on either side of the windpipe.