Venous anatomy of the supratentorial compartment

Document Type

Article

Abstract

The cerebral venous drainage system in humans has several unique characteristics that set it apart from its arterial counterpart. The intracranial drainage system can be broadly divided into supra- and infratentorial components. The supratentorial venous drainage is further subclassified into superficial and deep systems, each with a unique set of features. A thorough knowledge of the normal and variant venous drainage pathways is important to understand the different pathologic processes involving the venous vasculature, to identify and anticipate the different venous channels encountered during surgery and also to predict the possible sequelae of intentional or inadvertent venous sacrifice during surgery. This chapter summarizes the anatomic and radiologic characteristics of the venous supply of the supratentorial compartment of the brain, reviews its general characteristics, sheds light on the different classifications and nomenclature used for its descriptions, and briefly discusses its embryologic development.

Medical Subject Headings

Brain (pathology, surgery); Brain Mapping; Cerebral Veins (pathology); Cerebrovascular Circulation (physiology); Drainage; Humans; Intracranial Arteriovenous Malformations (pathology)

Publication Date

1-1-2020

Publication Title

Handbook of clinical neurology

ISSN

0072-9752

Volume

169

First Page

55

Last Page

71

PubMed ID

32553298

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1016/B978-0-12-804280-9.00003-2

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