straight sinus

{{Short description|Venous sinus draining the brain}}

{{Infobox vein

| Name = Straight sinus

| Latin = sinus rectus

| Image = Gray488_blue.gif

| Caption = Dural veins (Straight sinus labeled as 'SIN. RECTUS' at center right.)

| Image2 = Gray567.png

| Caption2 = Dura mater and its processes exposed by removing part of the right half of the skull, and the brain. (Straight sinus visible as blue line at center left.)

| DrainsFrom =

| Source = Inferior sagittal sinus, great cerebral vein

| DrainsTo = Confluence of sinuses

| Artery =

}}

The straight sinus, also known as tentorial sinus or the {{lang|la|sinus rectus}}, is an area within the skull beneath the brain. It receives blood from the inferior sagittal sinus and the great cerebral vein, and drains into the confluence of sinuses.

Structure

The straight sinus is situated within the dura mater, where the falx cerebri meets the midline of tentorium cerebelli. It forms from the confluence of the inferior sagittal sinus and the great cerebral vein.{{Cite journal|last1=Saxena|first1=R. C.|last2=Beg|first2=M. a. Q.|last3=Das|first3=A. C.|date=1 December 1974|title=The straight sinus|url=https://thejns.org/view/journals/j-neurosurg/41/6/article-p724.xml|journal=Journal of Neurosurgery|language=en-US|volume=41|issue=6|pages=724–727|doi=10.3171/jns.1974.41.6.0724|pmid=4424313 }} It may also drain blood from the superior cerebellar veins and veins from the falx cerebri. In cross-section, it is triangular, contains a few transverse bands across its interior, and increases in size as it proceeds backward.{{citation needed|date=November 2013}} It is usually around 5 cm long.

= Variation =

The straight sinus is usually an unpaired structure. However, there may be two straight sinuses, which may be one on top of the other or parallel.

Function

The straight sinus allows blood to drain from the inferior center of the head outwards posteriorly. It receives blood from the inferior sagittal sinus, great cerebral vein, posterior cerebral veins, superior cerebellar veins and veins from the falx cerebri.{{cite book|last=Drake|first=Richard L.|title=Gray's anatomy for students|year=2005|publisher=Elsevier/Churchill Livingstone|location=Philadelphia|isbn=978-0-443-06612-2 |author2=Vogl, Wayne |author3=Tibbitts, Adam W.M. Mitchell |author4=illustrations by Richard |author5= Richardson, Paul |page=795}}

Additional images

File:Gray569.png|Tentorium cerebelli from above.

File:Straight sinus.jpg|Straight sinus

See also

{{Anatomy-terms}}

References

{{Gray's}}

{{Reflist|2}}