Corpus: Cerebral veins

The cerebral veins are veins of the brain that drain the blood of the cerebrum into the sinus of dura mater via superficial and deep vessels.

In contrast to the veins in the periphery of the body, most cerebral veins do not run together with arteries, but independently. The venous drainage areas therefore differ significantly from the arterial supply areas.

2.1. Superficial cerebral veins

The superficial (cortical) cerebral veins emerge from the pia mater and run within the subarachnoid space. The superficial cerebral veins collect the blood from the cerebral cortex and finally conduct it via intradural bridging veins into the neighbouring cerebral sinuses, either ascending into the superior sagittal sinus or descending into the transverse sinus. The exact course of the vessels is very variable and follows the surface relief of the brain, with the veins sometimes utilising the cerebral furrows as a vascular bed. The superior cerebral veins include, among others:

• Frontal cerebral veins
• Parietal cerebral veins
• Temporal cerebral veins
• Occipital cerebral veins
• Middel cerebral veins
  • Superficial middle cerebral vein
  • Deep middle cerebral vein
• Superior anastomotic vein
• Inferior anastomotic vein

2.2. Deep cerebral veins

The deep cerebral veins include, among others:

• Basal vein
• Internal cerebral vein
• Great cerebral vein
• Superior thalamostriate vein
• Superior thalamostriate vein
• Veins of the septum pellucidum
• Internal parietooccipital vein