Venous drainage of the brain

Question 1

Cerebral venous system can be divided into:

Answer 1

superficial and deep veins

Question 2

What does the superficial system comprise?

Answer 2

dural sinuses + cortical veins

Question 3

What do dural sinuses + cortical veins drain?

Answer 3

drain superficial surfaces of both cerebral hemispheres

Question 4

what do dural sinuses contain?

Answer 4

contains venous sinuses which drain brain

Question 5

what is the dural sinus?

Answer 5

at site of attachment to calvaria: the 2 dural layers forming septum separate to form channels called dural venous sinuses, into which cerebral veins enter.

Question 6

What is the shape of the dural sinus?

Answer 6

roughly triangular in cross section

Question 7

What is the dural sinus lined with?

Answer 7

endothelium.

Question 8

where do the major sinuses lie?

Answer 8

lie along lines of attachment of falx + tentorium

Question 9

What are the names of the 5 small sinuses?

Answer 9

 Inferior sagittal sinus
 Straight sinus
 Occipital sinus (falx cerebelli)
 Superior petrosal sinus (carrying blood from cavernous sinus to transverse sinus)
 Inferior petrosal sinus (carrying blood from cavernous sinus to internal jugular vein)

Question 10

What is the name + specificity of the confluence of sinuses?

Answer 10

(torcular herophili)

it is not symmetrical structure.

Question 11

At the confluence of sinus where does most of blood from superior sagittal sinus go?

Answer 11

flows into right transverse sinus

Question 12

At the confluence of sinus where does most of blood from straight sinus go?

Answer 12

flows into left transverse sinus

Question 13

at the confluence of sinuses, what situation is not uncommon?

Answer 13

the 2 transverse sinuses are not interconnected

Question 14

where is the cavernous sinus located?

Answer 14

located on either side of pituitary fossa + body of sphenoid bone, between endosteal + meningeal layers of dura.

Question 15

What are the boundaries of the cavernous sinus?

Answer 15

Anteriorly bounded by superior ophthalmic fissure + posteriorly by petrous apex and Meckel’s cave.

Question 16

Where does the cavernous sinus receive blood from?

Answer 16

inferior + superior ophthalmic veins (which drain orbital cavity + are connected with facial veins)

phenoparietal sinus (runs along ridge of sphenoid lesser wing + collects tributaries of Sylvian veins)

Occasionally central retinal vein

Question 17

What is the specificity of the lumen of the cavernous sinus?

Answer 17

has multiple compartments

Question 18

What are the names of the cerebral veins?

Answer 18

External cerebral veins

Superficial middle cerebral vein

Superior anastomotic vein (vein de Trolard)

Inferior anastomotic vein (Labbè)

Question 19

What are the 3 groups of the External cerebral veins?

Answer 19

 superior (drain superolateral + medial surface of cerebral hemispheres)
 middle
 inferior

Question 20

What is the location of the Superficial middle cerebral vein ?

Answer 20

anteriorly + inferiorly along lateral sulcus

Question 21

What does the Superficial middle cerebral vein drain?

Answer 21

drains lateral surface of hemisphere into cavernous sinus and/or the sphenoparietal sinus.

Question 22

What does the Superior anastomotic vein (vein de Trolard) do ?

Answer 22

connects superficial middle cerebral vein + superior sagittal sinus

Question 23

where does the Inferior anastomotic vein (Labbè) run?

Answer 23

runs across temporal lobe + connects superficial middle cerebral vein + tranverse sinus

Question 24

What do the deep veins do?

Answer 24

drain internal structures + empy in straight sinus.

Question 25

What are the 2 main deep veins?

Answer 25

internal cerebral vein

Basal vein of Rosenthal

Question 26

What is the internal cerebral vein?

Answer 26

largest cerebral vein

paired, paramedian veins

Question 27

Where is the internal cerebral vein formed?

Answer 27

formed at interventricular foramen by confluence of smaller vessels.

Question 28

Where does the cerebral vein run?

Answer 28

run posteriorly along roof of 3rd ventricle

between 2 leaves of velum interpositum

Question 29

Where si the cerebral vein formed?

Answer 29

at foramen of Monro

Question 30

The cerebral vein is formed as a confluence of which 3 veins?

Answer 30

 choroidal vein (draining choroid plexus of lateral ventricle) +
 thalamostriate vein (which lies in groove between thalamus + caudate nucleus + receives blood from both)
 septal veins (the veins of septum pellucidum), which usually join thalamostriate vein.

Question 31

What does the cerebral vein unite with, where, and to form what?

Answer 31

basal veins (of Rosenthal) to form great cerebral vein (of Galen) just under splenium of corpus callosum in quadrigeminal cistern.

Question 32

what does the confluence of the great cerebral vein + inferior sagittal sinus form?

Answer 32

straight sinus

Question 33

what does the basal vein of Rosennthal drain?

Answer 33

drains insular region, inferior portion of basal ganglia, orbital surface of frontal lobe

Question 34

What 3 veins does the basal vein of Rosenthal receive?

Answer 34

receives anterior cerebral, middle cerebral and striate veins.

Question 35

How are the Structures in posterior cranial fossa (cerebellum + brain stem) drained ?

Answer 35

by complex system of veins which drain into straight, transverse and petrosal sinuses