Cardiovascular system · Head and neck
Straight sinus !
The straight sinus is a vein channel at the back of the skull that carries blood from the deep brain veins toward the confluence of sinuses.
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What it is
A sinus where the falx meets the tentorium.
What it does
Drains the deep brain veins to the confluence.
Key facts
- Drains
- Inferior sagittal sinus + great cerebral vein (Galen)
- Into
- Confluence of sinuses
Relations
- Course
- From the front edge of the tentorium, behind the splenium of the corpus callosum, it runs back and down in the junction of the falx and tentorium to the internal occipital protuberance
- Above
- The falx cerebri, with an occipital lobe on each side
- Below
- Tentorium cerebelli, with the vermis of the cerebellum below it
- In front
- The great cerebral vein entering it, with the pineal gland just below and in front
How to find it
It cannot be felt. On sagittal MRI or venography it slopes from behind the splenium of the corpus callosum down to the internal occipital protuberance; its lower end lies deep to the external occipital protuberance.
On imaging
Sagittal MR or CT venography shows a straight channel angled down to the confluence; loss of flow signal or a filling defect suggests thrombosis.
Clinical notes
- Surgery on pineal region and tentorial tumours must spare it, because the deep veins of the brain depend on it
- In a vein of Galen malformation, arteries empty straight into the great cerebral vein, which drains through this sinus or a persistent falcine sinus; the large shunt can cause heart failure in newborns
- The supracerebellar infratentorial approach to the pineal region works in the gap under the tentorium, below this sinus and the great cerebral vein
Anatomical variants
- A persistent falcine sinus, running in the falx from the great cerebral vein to the superior sagittal sinus, is sometimes seen, often with vein of Galen malformations
Development
It forms in the lower part of the embryonic midline venous plexus that also gives the superior sagittal sinus, and lengthens backward as the hemispheres grow.
Related conditions
Test yourself
Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.
Where does the straight sinus lie?
Along the junction of the falx cerebri and the tentorium cerebelli, sloping back and down to the confluence of sinuses at the internal occipital protuberance.
Which veins drain into the straight sinus?
The inferior sagittal sinus and the great cerebral vein (of Galen): it carries the deep venous drainage of the brain.
Which brain structures are at risk when the straight sinus thromboses (deep cerebral venous thrombosis)?
The thalamus and basal ganglia on both sides, with drowsiness or coma, because they drain through the deep veins into the straight sinus.
Educational information, not medical advice. For any symptom, see a health professional.
Its names
- Official Latin (TA2)
- sinus rectus TA2 4853
- Official Spanish (DeCS)
- Seno recto DeCS D003392
- English (TA2)
- Straight sinus
Sources: Terminologia Anatomica (TA2); DeCS; Neuroanatomy, Dural Venous Sinuses; Anatomy of the Human Body (20th ed.): Development of the Vascular System (Lea & Febiger (Gray's Anatomy, 1918), 1918) · adapted, Public domain.
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Representative model, for educational purposes only.
