Fig. 4. Relation between shoulder position and angles composed of the great veins. Angles were obtained from great veins in the coronal plane scanned by multislice computed tomography. α= angle between subclavian vein (sv) and brachiocephalic vein (bc); β= angle between subclavian vein and internal jugular vein (jv). (  A ) α= 114°, β= 89° in elevated shoulder position; (  B ) α= 108°, β= 107° in neutral shoulder position; (  C ) α= 99°, β= 117° in lowered shoulder position. Values are presented as means. Lower shoulder position results in a reduced angle between the subclavian and brachiocephalic veins.