The great cerebral vein is one of the large

blood vessel The blood vessels are the components 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 ...

s in the

skull The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, facial bones, ear ossicles and hyoid bone. However two parts are more prominent: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, th ...

draining the

cerebrum The cerebrum, telencephalon or endbrain is the largest part of the brain containing the cerebral cortex (of the two cerebral hemispheres), as well as several subcortical structures, including the hippocampus, basal ganglia, and olfactory bulb ...

of the

brain A brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It is located in the head, usually close to the sensory organs for senses such as vision. It is the most complex organ in a ve ...

. It is also known as the "vein of Galen", named for its discoverer, the Greek physician

Galen Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus ( el, Κλαύδιος Γαληνός; September 129 – c. AD 216), often Anglicized as Galen () or Galen of Pergamon, was a Greek physician, surgeon and philosopher in the Roman Empire. Considered to be one ...

. However, it is not the only vein with this eponym.

Structure

The great cerebral vein is considered one of the deep cerebral veins. Other deep cerebral veins are the internal cerebral veins, formed by the union of the superior thalamostriate vein and the superior choroid vein at the interventricular foramina. The internal cerebral veins can be seen on the superior surfaces of the caudate nuclei and thalami just under the

corpus callosum The corpus callosum (Latin for "tough body"), also callosal commissure, is a wide, thick nerve tract, consisting of a flat bundle of commissural fibers, beneath the cerebral cortex in the brain. The corpus callosum is only found in placental m ...

. The veins at the anterior poles of the thalami merge posterior to the pineal gland to form the great cerebral vein. Most of the blood in the deep cerebral veins collects into the great cerebral vein. This comes from the inferior side of the posterior end of the

and empties ie similarities, there are also differences between these two types of veins in the brain. The superficial veins at the dorsal parts of the hemispheres run upward and medially and empty into the large superior sagittal sinus in the upper margin of the

falx cerebri The falx cerebri (also known as the cerebral falx) is a large, crescent-shaped fold of dura mater that descends vertically into the longitudinal fissure between the cerebral hemispheres of the human brain,Saladin K. "Anatomy & Physiology: The Uni ...

. The superior sagittal sinus divides into two parts called the transverse sinuses where the falx cerebri meets the tentorium cerebelli. The

sigmoid sinus The sigmoid sinuses (sigma- or s-shaped hollow curve), also known as the , are venous sinuses within the skull that receive blood from posterior dural venous sinus veins. Structure The sigmoid sinus is a dural venous sinus situated within the du ...

, which continues the transverse sinus, empties into the

jugular vein The jugular veins are veins that take deoxygenated blood from the head back to the heart via the superior vena cava. The internal jugular vein descends next to the internal carotid artery and continues posteriorly to the sternocleidomastoid mu ...

at the

jugular foramen A jugular foramen is one of the two (left and right) large foramina (openings) in the base of the skull, located behind the carotid canal. It is formed by the temporal bone and the occipital bone. It allows many structures to pass, including the ...

. The internal

leaves the skull and travels downward to the neck. Length of great cerebral vein of Galen varies from 0.15 to 4.2 cm (mean 0.93 cm). The veins of the brain have very thin walls and contain no valves. They emerge in the brain and lie in the subarachnoid space. They pierce the arachnoid matter and the meningeal layer in the dura and drain into the cranial venous sinuses.

Clinical significance

Malformations

Most conditions associated with the great cerebral vein are due to congenital defects. Vein of Galen aneurysmal malformations (VGAM) are the most common form of symptomatic cerebrovascular malformation in neonates and infants. The presence and locations of angiomas are very variable and do not follow any predictable pattern. The congenital malformation develops during weeks 6-11 of fetal development as a persistent embryonic prosencephalic vein of Markowski; thus, VGAM is actually a misnomer. The vein of Markowski actually drains into the vein of Galen.

Absence

Absence of the great cerebral vein is a

congenital disorder A birth defect, also known as a congenital disorder, is an abnormal condition that is present at birth regardless of its cause. Birth defects may result in disabilities that may be physical, intellectual, or developmental. The disabilities ca ...

. The deep cerebral veins of the brain normally drain through the great cerebral vein. In its absence, the veins from the diencephalon and the basal ganglia drain laterally into the transverse sinus instead of conjoining in the midline through the Galenic drainage system. Absence of the great cerebral vein is quite rare. It is detected in infancy and most patients die in the neonatal period or in early infancy.

Thrombosis

Thrombosis of the great cerebral vein is a form of stroke due to a blood clot in the vein. It affects just 3 to 8% of patients, predominantly women. Patients may present with consciousness problems, headaches, nausea, visual defects, fatigue, disturbance of eye movements and pupillary reflexes, or coma. Thrombosis of the cerebral vein is often deadly but can be survived. Risk factors include oral contraceptives, pregnancy, and the

postpartum period The postpartum (or postnatal) period begins after childbirth and is typically considered to end within 6 weeks as the mother's body, including hormone levels and uterus size, returns to a non-pregnant state. The terms puerperium, puerperal perio ...

History

References

External links

* * http://neuroangio.org/venous-brain-anatomy/deep-venous-system/
Vein of Galen images
{{DEFAULTSORT:Great Cerebral Vein Veins of the head and neck