Cardiovascular system · Head and neck
Inferior sagittal sinus !
The inferior sagittal sinus is a small vein channel in the lower edge of the dura fold between the two halves of the brain; it drains into the straight sinus.
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What it is
A small sinus in the lower free edge of the falx.
What it does
Drains into the straight sinus.
Key facts
- Drains
- Falx and medial hemispheres
- Into
- Straight sinus
Relations
- Course
- Begins above the front of the corpus callosum in the free edge of the falx, runs backward along that edge and ends where the falx meets the tentorium cerebelli
- Above
- The falx cerebri, with the superior sagittal sinus in its upper attached border
- Below
- Corpus callosum and the cingulate gyrus on each side
- Behind
- The straight sinus, which it forms together with the great cerebral vein
How to find it
It cannot be felt. In the interhemispheric approach it is seen in the free lower edge of the falx, just above the corpus callosum and the pericallosal arteries; on sagittal MR venography it is a thin channel running back to the straight sinus.
On imaging
Small and often only partly seen on MR or CT venography; incomplete filling is common and is not by itself a sign of thrombosis.
Clinical notes
- Rarely thrombosed alone; it may be involved with the straight sinus and deep veins in deep cerebral venous thrombosis, which can swell both thalami
- Lies along the edge under which the cingulate gyrus slides in subfalcine herniation
Test yourself
Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.
Where does the inferior sagittal sinus run?
In the lower, free, curved edge of the falx cerebri, above the corpus callosum.
Which sinus does the inferior sagittal sinus form, and with which vein?
The straight sinus, joining the great cerebral vein (of Galen) at the front edge of the tentorium.
Which gyrus slides under the edge of the falx near the inferior sagittal sinus in subfalcine herniation?
The cingulate gyrus.
Educational information, not medical advice. For any symptom, see a health professional.
Its names
- Official Latin (TA2)
- sinus sagittalis inferior TA2 4854
- Official Spanish (DeCS)
- Seno sagital inferior DeCS D003392
- English (TA2)
- Inferior sagittal sinus
Sources: Terminologia Anatomica (TA2); DeCS; Neuroanatomy, Dural Venous Sinuses.
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Representative model, for educational purposes only.
