Which vessel would most likely produce a venous Doppler waveform in the axillary region?

• A. Axillary artery
• B. Axillary vein
• C. Subclavian artery
• D. Internal jugular vein

Answer: (B)

Venous Doppler signals reflect low-velocity, phasic flow that changes with respiration. In the axillary region, the vessel that carries venous blood is the axillary vein, which would produce a low-velocity, non-pulsatile (though respiration-modulated) waveform. The axillary artery and subclavian artery would generate arterial waveforms—pulsatile with a clear systolic upstroke and higher velocities. The internal jugular vein is venous but isn’t located in the axillary region. So the axillary vein is the vessel most likely to yield a venous Doppler waveform in the axilla.