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Exploration of postural effects on the external jugular and diploic venous system using upright computed tomography scanning

  • Diagnostic Neuroradiology
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Abstract

Purpose

Few studies have investigated the influence of posture on the external jugular and diploic venous systems in the head and cranial region. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of posture on these systems using upright computed tomography (CT) scanning.

Methods

This study retrospectively analysed an upright CT dataset from a previous prospective study. In each patient, the diameters of the vessels in three external jugular tributaries and four diploic veins were measured using CT digital subtraction venography in both supine and sitting positions.

Results

Amongst the 20 cases in the original dataset, we eventually investigated 19 cases due to motion artifacts in 1 case. Compared with the supine position, most of the external jugular tributaries collapsed, and the average size significantly decreased in the sitting position (decreased by 22–49% on average). In contrast, most of the diploic veins, except the occipital diploic veins, tended to increase or remain unchanged (increased by 12–101% on average) in size in the sitting position compared with the supine position. However, the changes in the veins associated with this positional shift were not uniform; in approximately 5–30% of the cases, depending on each vein, an opposite trend was observed.

Conclusion

Compared to the supine position, the contribution of external jugular tributaries to head venous drainage decreased in the sitting position, whilst most diploic veins maintained their contribution. These results could enhance our understanding of the physiology and pathophysiology of the head region in upright and sitting positions.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available due to the limitation that the data can be viewed only in our institution but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request with the limitation of browsing in our facility.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Ms. Naomi Tamaki, Ms. Yoko Tauchi, and Ms. Kyoko Komatsu for their valuable assistance.

Funding

This study was supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) KAKENHI (grant numbers JP20K08056, JP21H03799, and JP23K07214) and the Takeda Science Foundation.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurosurgery, School of Medicine, Keio University, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan

    Katsuhiro Mizutani, Tsubasa Miyauchi, Kenzo Kosugi, Takenori Akiyama & Masahiro Toda

  2. Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, Keio University, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan

    Yoshitake Yamada, Minoru Yamada, Yoichi Yokoyama & Masahiro Jinzaki

  3. Department of Neurosurgery, Mihara Memorial Hospital, Isezaki, Gumma, Japan

    Keisuke Yoshida

Authors
  1. Katsuhiro Mizutani
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  2. Tsubasa Miyauchi
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  3. Yoshitake Yamada
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  4. Minoru Yamada
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  5. Yoichi Yokoyama
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  6. Kenzo Kosugi
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  7. Keisuke Yoshida
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  8. Takenori Akiyama
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  9. Masahiro Toda
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  10. Masahiro Jinzaki
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study’s conception, analyses, and/or design as follows: conceptualisation and writing, Katsuhiro Mizutani; data analyses, Katsuhiro Mizutani, Tsubasa Miyauchi; methodology, Yoshitake Yamada; data collection, Yoshitake Yamada, Minoru Yamada, Yoichi Yamada, Kenzo Kosugi, Keisuke Yoshida; review editing, Katsuhiro Mizutani, Yoshitake Yamada, Minoru Yamada, Yoichi Yokoyama; supervision, Yoshitake Yamada, Minoru Yamada, Takenori Akiyama, Masahiro Toda, Masahiro Jinzaki. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yoshitake Yamada.

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Conflict of interest

Masahiro Jinzaki received a grant from Canon Medical Systems. However, the company was not involved in the design and conduct of the study; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of the data; or in the preparation, review, and approval of the manuscript. The remaining authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Ethics approval

In this study, we retrospectively reviewed data collected during a previous prospective study that had been approved by the local ethics committee (No. 20180035) (UMIN-CTR: UMIN000032999). The current study was approved by the local ethics committee (No. 20221150).

Informed consent

Regarding informed consent, written consent was obtained in the previous prospective study. Given the design of the present study, the local institutional ethics committees have waived the requirement for informed consent, in accordance with the ethical standards of the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its subsequent amendments, for this retrospective study.

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Mizutani, K., Miyauchi, T., Yamada, Y. et al. Exploration of postural effects on the external jugular and diploic venous system using upright computed tomography scanning. Neuroradiology (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00234-024-03357-4

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