Straight sinus

Last revised by Calum Worsley on 13 Feb 2023

The straight sinus is one of the main dural venous sinuses and is found at the junction between the falx cerebri and the tentorium cerebelli and is triangular in cross-section.

It receives the inferior sagittal sinus and the vein of Galen at its anterior end and some superior cerebellar veins along its course, and runs posteroinferiorly towards the confluence of sinuses, although the exact drainage is variable:

  • confluence of sinuses (56%)
  • left transverse sinus (21%)
  • right transverse sinus (13%)

It is occasionally duplicated or hypoplastic. When absent a persistent falcine sinus is usually identified, draining directly into the superior sagittal sinus.

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