Life Science Encyclopedia

The dural venous sinuses (also called dural sinuses, cerebral sinuses, or cranial sinuses) are venous channels found between layers of dura mater in the brain.^[1] They receive blood from internal and external veins of the brain, receive cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from the subarachnoid space, and ultimately 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) characteristic of arteries and veins.

Clinical relevance

The sinuses can be injured by trauma.^[2] Damage to the dura mater, which may be caused by skull fracture, may result blood clot formation (thrombosis) within the dural sinuses. While rare, dural sinus thrombosis may lead to hemorrhagic infarction with serious consequences including epilepsy, neurological deficits, or death.^[3]

Additional images

References

1. ^ Kiernan, John A. (2005). Barr's The Human Nervous System: An Anatomical Viewpoint. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 428-230. ISBN 0-7817-5154-3. 
2. ^ Anatomy at MUN head/cbv
3. ^ de Bruijn SF, Stam J (1999). "Randomized, placebo-controlled trial of anticoagulant treatment with low-molecular-weight heparin for cerebral sinus thrombosis". Stroke 30 (3): 484-8. PMID 10066840.