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 oxygenated ...
channels found between the
endosteal
The endosteum (plural endostea) is a thin vascular membrane of connective tissue that lines the inner surface of the bony tissue that forms the medullary cavity of long bones.
This endosteal surface is usually resorbed during long periods of mal ...
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 t ...
layers of
dura mater in the
brain.
They receive
blood from the
cerebral veins
In human anatomy, the cerebral veins are blood vessels which drain blood from the cerebrum of the human brain. They are divisible into ''external'' ( superficial cerebral veins) and ''internal'' (internal cerebral veins) groups according to the ...
, 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 b ...
(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 located in ...
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 p ...
, and mainly empty into the
internal jugular vein.
Venous sinuses
Structure
The walls of the dural venous sinuses are composed of
dura mater lined with
endothelium, a specialized layer of
flattened cells found in
blood vessels. 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 or vein. It lies between the tunica intima on the inside and the tunica externa on the outside.
Artery
Tunica media is made up of smooth ...
) characteristic of
arteries
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 of the body (tissues, lungs, brain etc.). Most arteries carry oxygenated blood; the two exceptions are the p ...
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 oxygenated ...
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
dura mater, may result in
blood clot
A thrombus (plural thrombi), colloquially called a blood clot, is the final product of the blood coagulation step in hemostasis. There are two components to a thrombus: aggregated platelets and red blood cells that form a plug, and a mesh of cr ...
formation (thrombosis) within the dural sinuses. Other common causes of
dural sinus thrombosis
Dural is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 36 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government areas of Hornsby Shire and The Hills Shire. Dural is part of the Hills District. ...
include tracking of infection through the ophthalmic vein in orbital cellulitis. While rare, dural sinus thrombosis may lead to
hemorrhagic infarction or cerebral oedema with serious consequences including
epilepsy, 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
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Veins of the head and neck