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Chordae Willisii of the dural sinuses: an anatomical study using magnetic resonance imaging

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Abstract

Purpose

The chordae Willisii (CWs), trabecular projections into the lumen of the dural sinuses, are not well understood. We aimed to explore them using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Methods

Eighty-five patients underwent volumetric contrast-enhanced MRI, while another 30 underwent a fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) sequence in the coronal section.

Results

The CWs were detected as linear filling defects lying in the dural sinuses, adjacent to the surrounding dura mater. They were found in the superior sagittal sinus (SSS) in 68.2% of the patients, most frequently in the middle third, with laminar appearance. In 27.1% of the patients, the CWs divided the SSS lumen into separate channels. The CWs were identified in the transverse sinus, transverse-sigmoid sinus junctional area and sigmoid sinus, and straight sinus in 54.1, 47.1, and 8.2%, respectively. On the FLAIR images, dural septi partially dividing the SSS lumen were identified in all patients. In addition, in 73.3% of the patients, fine linear structures were observed in the lumen with inconstant arrangements.

Conclusions

The CWs may be constant structures distributed over the lumen of the intracranial dural sinuses. Contrast-enhanced MRI may be useful for detecting laminar CWs. The FLAIR sequence may be advantageous for delineating the dural septi projecting into the lumen of the dural sinuses.

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Data availability

The data and materials used in this study are available with the corresponding author upon request (Satoshi Tsutsumi).

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Funding

No funding was received for this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurological Surgery, Juntendo University Urayasu Hospital, 2-1-1 Tomioka, Urayasu, Chiba, 279-0021, Japan

    Satoshi Tsutsumi, Natsuki Sugiyama, Hideaki Ueno & Hisato Ishii

Authors
  1. Satoshi Tsutsumi
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  2. Natsuki Sugiyama
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  3. Hideaki Ueno
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  4. Hisato Ishii
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Contributions

ST: Study design, Image data analysis, and Manuscript writing. NS: Image data collection. HU: Image data collection. HI: Image data analysis.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Satoshi Tsutsumi.

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Conflict of interests

The authors declare no conflicts of interest of a financial or personal nature.

Ethical approval

All procedures in the study were performed according to the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee as well as the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Written informed consent was obtained from all the participants included in the study for their participation in and publication of this article.

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Tsutsumi, S., Sugiyama, N., Ueno, H. et al. Chordae Willisii of the dural sinuses: an anatomical study using magnetic resonance imaging. Surg Radiol Anat (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-024-03382-1

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