The dural venous sinuses (also called dural sinuses, cerebral sinuses, or cranial sinuses) are

venous Veins are blood vessels in humans and most other animals that carry blood towards the heart. Most veins carry deoxygenated blood from the tissues back to the heart; exceptions are the pulmonary and umbilical veins, both of which carry oxygenate ...

channels found between the

endosteal The endosteum (plural endostea) is a thin vascular membrane of connective tissue Connective tissue is one of the four primary types of animal tissue, along with epithelial tissue, muscle tissue, and nervous tissue. It develops from the mese ...

and

meningeal In anatomy, the meninges (, ''singular:'' meninx ( or ), ) are the three membranes that envelop the brain and spinal cord. In mammals, the meninges are the dura mater, the arachnoid mater, and the pia mater. Cerebrospinal fluid is located in th ...

layers of

dura mater In neuroanatomy, dura mater is a thick membrane made of dense irregular connective tissue that surrounds the brain and spinal cord. It is the outermost of the three layers of membrane called the meninges that protect the central nervous syste ...

in the

brain The brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head ( cephalization), usually near organs for special ...

. They receive

blood Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood in th ...

from the cerebral veins, receive

cerebrospinal fluid Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is a clear, colorless body fluid found within the tissue that surrounds the brain and spinal cord of all vertebrates. CSF is produced by specialised ependymal cells in the choroid plexus of the ventricles of the bra ...

(CSF) from the

subarachnoid space In anatomy, the meninges (, ''singular:'' meninx ( or ), ) are the three membranes that envelop the brain and spinal cord. In mammals, the meninges are the dura mater, the arachnoid mater, and the pia mater. Cerebrospinal fluid is locate ...

via

arachnoid granulations Arachnoid granulations (also arachnoid villi, and pacchionian granulations or bodies) are small protrusions of the arachnoid mater (the thin second layer covering the brain) into the outer membrane of the dura mater (the thick outer layer). They ...

, and mainly empty into the

internal jugular vein The internal jugular vein is a paired jugular vein that collects blood from the brain and the superficial parts of the face and neck. This vein runs in the carotid sheath with the common carotid artery and vagus nerve. It begins in the post ...

Venous sinuses

Structure

The walls of the dural venous sinuses are composed of

lined with

endothelium The endothelium is a single layer of squamous endothelial cells that line the interior surface of blood vessels and lymphatic vessels. The endothelium forms an interface between circulating blood or lymph in the lumen and the rest of the ve ...

, a specialized layer of flattened cells found in

blood vessel Blood vessels are the structures of the circulatory system that transport blood throughout the human body. These vessels transport blood cells, nutrients, and oxygen to the tissues of the body. They also take waste and carbon dioxide away from ...

s. They differ from other blood vessels in that they lack a full set of vessel layers (e.g.

tunica media The tunica media (New Latin "middle coat"), or media for short, is the middle tunica (layer) of an artery An artery (plural arteries) () is a blood vessel in humans and most animals that takes blood away from the heart to one or more parts o ...

) characteristic of arteries and

vein Veins are blood vessels in humans and most other animals that carry blood towards the heart. Most veins carry deoxygenated blood from the tissues back to the heart; exceptions are the pulmonary and umbilical veins, both of which carry oxygenate ...

s. It also lacks valves (in veins; with exception of materno-fetal blood circulation i.e. placental artery and pulmonary arteries both of which carry deoxygenated blood).

Clinical relevance

The sinuses can be injured by trauma in which damage to the

, may result in blood clot formation (thrombosis) within the dural sinuses. Other common causes of dural sinus thrombosis include tracking of infection through the ophthalmic vein in orbital cellulitis. While rare, dural sinus thrombosis may lead to hemorrhagic

infarction Infarction is tissue death (necrosis) due to inadequate blood supply to the affected area. It may be caused by artery blockages, rupture, mechanical compression, or vasoconstriction. The resulting lesion is referred to as an infarct (from the ...

or cerebral oedema with serious consequences including

epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures. Epileptic seizures can vary from brief and nearly undetectable periods to long periods of vigorous shaking due to abnormal electrical ...

, neurological deficits, or death.

Additional images

File:Gray488_blue.gif, Dural veins File:Gray568.png, Sagittal section of the skull, showing the sinuses of the dura. File:Gray567.png, Dura mater and its processes exposed by removing part of the right half of the skull, and the brain. File:Gray570.png, The sinuses at the base of the skull.

References

External links

* http://neuroangio.org/venous-brain-anatomy/venous-sinuses/ * http://rad.usuhs.edu/medpix/parent.php3?mode=TFcase_thumbnails&pt_id=13693&quiz=no#top {{Authority control Veins of the head and neck