Intracranial Venous Anatomy and Variation on Cerebral Magnetic Resonance Venography in Normal Population



Hekmatnia A¹ ; Yousefian E² ; Saboori M³ Show Affiliations
Source: Journal of Isfahan Medical School Published:2008

Abstract

Background: The MR venography is used to examine the intracranial venous system. However, little information is available about the age and sexrelated variation in intracranial veins and (venous system) sinuses. We evaluated the normal intracranial venous anatomy in different age and sex groups by MRV. Methods: 742 patients with normal brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) were studied by MRV. Patients categorized into the three groups (Age < 15, 15-55, Age > 55). All the patients who have a history of brain tumor, vasculitis and anticoagulant therapy were excluded from the study. Findings: The transverse sinus distribution was %51.9 bilaterally, %12.2 only on the left side and %35.8 only on the right side. Only in one patient this sinus was not visible (0.1%).The occipital sinus was seen in 69/1% (224 patients) and the sigmoid sinus was visualized in 67.7% (490 patients). The Galen's vein was visualized in 72.8% and Rosenthal's vein was visualized in 66.6%. The superior sagittal sinus was visualized in all patients. There was a statistically significant difference in intracranial venous anatomy between three age groups but not in different sex groups. Conclusion: The MRV is a valuable non-invasive imaging modality in the assessment of intracranial venous anatomy and its age related variation. © 2008, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences(IUMS). All rights reserved.