cavernous sinus

Information about cavernous sinus

Vein: Cavernous sinus
Cavernous sinus (center, labeled "SIN. CAVERN.")
The sinuses at the base of the skull. Cavernous sinus labeled in red
Latinsinus cavernosus
subject #171 658
Sourcemiddle cerebral vein, sphenoparietal sinus, superior ophthalmic vein
Drains toinferior petrosal sinus
MeSH Cranial+Sinuses
Dorlands/Elseviers_12/12738628
The cavernous sinus (or lateral sellar compartment), within the human head, is a large collection of thin-walled veins creating a cavity bordered by the sphenoid bone and the temporal bone of the skull.

Contents

Each cavernous sinus (one for each hemisphere of the brain) contains the following: One mnemonic for remembering the contents is "OTOM CAT"[1]

Venous connections

It receives tributaries from: The veins of exit are to the superior and inferior petrosal sinuses as well as via the emissary veins through the foramina of the skull. There are also connections with the pterygoid plexus of veins via inferior ophthalmic vein, deep facial vein and emissary veins.

Clinical significance

It is the only anatomic location in the body in which an artery travels completely through a venous structure. If the internal carotid artery ruptures within the cavernous sinus, an arteriovenous fistula is created (more specifically, a carotid-cavernous fistula).

The pituitary gland lies between the two paired cavernous sinuses. An abnormally growing pituitary adenoma, sitting on the bony sella turcica, will expand in the direction of least resistance and eventually compress the cavernous sinus. Cavernous sinus syndrome may result from mass effect of these tumors and cause ophthalmoplegia (from compression of the oculomotor nerve, trochlear nerve, and abducens nerve), ophthalmic sensory loss (from compression of the ophthalmic nerve), and maxillary sensory loss (from compression of the maxillary nerve).

Additional images


Oblique section through the cavernous sinus.

Veins of orbit.

Pathways in the Ciliary Ganglion.


See also

References

External links

Latin}}} 
Official status
Official language of: Vatican City
Used for official purposes, but not spoken in everyday speech
Regulated by: Opus Fundatum Latinitas
Roman Catholic Church
Language codes
ISO 639-1: la
ISO 639-2: lat
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The middle cerebral vein (superficial Sylvian vein) begins on the lateral surface of the hemisphere, and, running along the lateral cerebral fissure, ends in the cavernous or the sphenoparietal sinus.
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sphenoparietal sinus, which courses along the under surface of the small wing of the sphenoid.

References

1. ^ San Millán Ruíz D, Fasel J, Rüfenacht D, Gailloud P (2004).

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The superior ophthalmic vein begins at the inner angle of the orbit in a vein named the nasofrontal which communicates anteriorly with the angular vein; it pursues the same course as the ophthalmic artery, and receives tributaries corresponding to the branches of that vessel.
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The inferior petrosal sinus, within the human head, is an area beneath the brain, which allows blood veins to span the area, from the center of the head downward. It drains from the cavernous sinus (beneath the brain) to the sigmoid sinuses above the internal jugular vein.
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Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) is a huge controlled vocabulary (or metadata system) for the purpose of indexing journal articles and books in the life sciences. Created and updated by the United States National Library of Medicine (NLM), it is used by the MEDLINE/PubMed
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Elsevier, the world's largest publisher of medical and scientific literature, forms part of the Reed Elsevier group. Based in Amsterdam, the company has substantial operations in the UK, USA and elsewhere.
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vein is a blood vessel that carries blood toward the heart. The majority of veins in the body carry low-oxygen blood from the tissues back to the heart; the exceptions being the pulmonary and umbilical veins which both carry oxygenated blood.
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The sphenoid bone (from Greek sphenoeides, "wedgelike") is a bone situated at the base of the skull in front of the temporals and basilar part of the occipital bone.

The sphenoid bone somewhat resembles a butterfly or bat with its wings extended.
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The temporal bones are situated at the sides and base of the skull.

The temporal bone supports that part of the face known as the temple.

Parts

Each consists of five parts:
  • Squama temporalis
  • Mastoid portion
  • Petrous portion
  • Tympanic part

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skull is a bony structure found in many animals which serves as the general framework for the head. The skull supports the structures of the face and protects the head against injury.

The skull can be subdivided into two parts: the cranium and the mandible.
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The oculomotor nerve is the third of twelve paired cranial nerves. It controls most of the eye movements (cranial nerves IV and VI also do some), constriction of the pupil, and holding the eyelid open.
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The trochlear nerve (the fourth cranial nerve, also called the fourth nerve or simply IV) is a motor nerve (a “somatic efferent” nerve) that innervates a single muscle: the superior oblique muscle of the eye.
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The ophthalmic nerve is one of the three branches of the trigeminal nerve, the fifth cranial nerve. Like the maxillary branch of the trigeminal nerve, the ophthalmic branch carries sensory fibers only.
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The trigeminal nerve (the fifth cranial nerve, also called the fifth nerve or simply V) is responsible for sensation in the face. It is similar to the spinal nerves C2–S5, which are responsible for sensation in the rest of the body.
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The maxillary nerve (superior maxillary nerve), or second division of the trigeminal, is a sensory nerve.

It is intermediate, both in position and size, between the ophthalmic nerve and the mandibular nerve.
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In human anatomy, the internal carotid artery is a major artery of the head and neck that helps supply blood to the brain.

Classification

Terminologia Anatomica currently breaks the artery into four parts: "cervical", "petrous", "cavernous", and "cerebral".
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The Cavernous Portion of internal carotid artery.—In this part of its course, the artery is situated between the layers of the dura mater forming the cavernous sinus, but covered by the lining membrane of the sinus.
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The abducens nerve (the sixth cranial nerve, also called the sixth nerve or simply VI) is a motor nerve (a “somatic efferent” nerve) that controls the movement of a single muscle, the lateral rectus muscle of the eye.
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The superior ophthalmic vein begins at the inner angle of the orbit in a vein named the nasofrontal which communicates anteriorly with the angular vein; it pursues the same course as the ophthalmic artery, and receives tributaries corresponding to the branches of that vessel.
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The inferior ophthalmic vein begins in a venous net-work at the forepart of the floor and medial wall of the orbit; it receives some veins from the Rectus inferior, Obliquus inferior, lacrimal sac and eyelids, runs backward in the lower part of the orbit and divides into two
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The Superior Cerebral Veins, eight to twelve in number, drain the superior, lateral, and medial surfaces of the hemispheres, and are mainly lodged in the sulci between the gyri, but some run across the gyri.
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The middle cerebral vein (superficial Sylvian vein) begins on the lateral surface of the hemisphere, and, running along the lateral cerebral fissure, ends in the cavernous or the sphenoparietal sinus.
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The inferior petrosal sinus, within the human head, is an area beneath the brain, which allows blood veins to span the area, from the center of the head downward. It drains from the cavernous sinus (beneath the brain) to the sigmoid sinuses above the internal jugular vein.
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The emissary veins are valveless veins which normally drain the intracranial venous sinuses to veins on the outside of the skull. However, because they are valveless, blood can flow into the skull through them as well, making them a possible route for transmission of extracranial
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In anatomy, a foramen is any opening.

Examples

Skull

See Foramina of skull

Other

  • the apical foramen is the hole at the tip of the root of a tooth.
  • the foramen ovale (heart) is a hole between the venous and arterial sides of the fetal heart.

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The pterygoid plexus is of considerable size, and is situated between the Temporalis and Pterygoideus externus, and partly between the two pterygoid muscles.

Tributaries received

It receives tributaries corresponding with the branches of the maxillary artery.
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The inferior ophthalmic vein begins in a venous net-work at the forepart of the floor and medial wall of the orbit; it receives some veins from the Rectus inferior, Obliquus inferior, lacrimal sac and eyelids, runs backward in the lower part of the orbit and divides into two
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The anterior facial vein receives a branch of considerable size, the deep facial vein, from the pterygoid venous plexus.

This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy.
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Arteries are muscular blood vessels that carry blood away from the heart.[1] All arteries, with the exception of the pulmonary and umbilical arteries, carry oxygenated blood.

The circulatory system is extremely important for sustaining life.
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