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Non-standard intracranial connections and alternative pathways between dural venous sinuses and cerebral veins in the rat

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to describe the uncommon intracranial venous connections and vein structures that may play a role in the redirection of cerebral blood drainage. The study was carried out on 35 adult Wistar rats. Corrosion casts were prepared from the cerebral venous system and Spofacryl® was used as a casting medium. The highest prevalence of non-standard connections and variations was noted in the region of sinus petrosus dorsalis (SPD) (31.2 %) and v. cerebri magna (VCM) (28.5 %). SPD established a non-standard anastomosis with sinus petrosus ventralis in 8.6 % of cases, with sinus interperiopticus in 2.8 % of cases, with sinus sigmoideus in 5.7 % of cases and with confluens sinuum (CS) in 2.8 % of cases, where higher prevalence was observed on the left side of the brain. In 11.4 % of cases VCM formed a secondary connection between CS and sinus rectus leading to the formation of the loop. In a similar manner, VCM entered the sinus transversus in 8.6 % of cases, while in 5.7 % of cases VCM merged with SPD and formed an unusual connection among dorsal and ventral systems of sinuses. Several sinuses were observed as inconsistent, including sinus occipitalis (14.3 %), sinus intercavernosus rostralis (22.8 %) and sinus interbasilaris (14.3 %). The hypoplastic posterior and anterior anastomotic vein did not reach one another in 20 % of observed cases. Anatomical information concerning different drainage pathways are important in preoperative planning and can provide necessary understanding in experimental studies, including cerebral vein occlusion, venous infarction, or experimentally induced cerebral venous obstruction.

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Acknowledgment

The present study was carried out within the project VEGA 1/0111/13.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomy, Histology and Physiology, University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Kosice, Komenskeho 73, 041 81, Kosice, Slovak Republic

    Lenka Kresakova, Marcela Maloveska, Katarina Vdoviakova, Zuzana Kravcova & Martin Boldizar

  2. Unit of Anatomy, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Wroclaw, Poland

    Halina Purzyc

  3. Slovak Eastern Institute of Heart Disease, Ondavská 8, 040 11, Kosice, Slovak Republic

    Ingrid Schusterova

  4. Health and Science Division, West Virginia Northern Community College, 1704 Market Street, Wheeling, WV, 26003, USA

    Benjamin Fulton

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  1. Lenka Kresakova
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  2. Halina Purzyc
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  4. Benjamin Fulton
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Correspondence to Lenka Kresakova.

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Kresakova, L., Purzyc, H., Schusterova, I. et al. Non-standard intracranial connections and alternative pathways between dural venous sinuses and cerebral veins in the rat. Anat Sci Int 90, 172–179 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12565-014-0241-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12565-014-0241-2

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