Transverse sinus
Last revised by Rohit Sharma on 17 Jun 2024
Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data
Citation:
Gaillard F, Sharma R, MacManus D, et al. Transverse sinus. Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 11 Oct 2024) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-5055
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rID:
5055
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Disclosures:
At the time the article was created Frank Gaillard had no recorded disclosures.
View Frank Gaillard's current disclosures
Last revised:
17 Jun 2024,
Rohit Sharma ◉
Disclosures:
At the time the article was last revised Rohit Sharma had no financial relationships to ineligible companies to disclose.
View Rohit Sharma's current disclosures
Revisions:
14 times, by
12 contributors -
see full revision history and disclosures
Systems:
Sections:
Tags:
Synonyms:
- Transverse sinuses
- Left transverse sinuses
- Left transverse sinus
- Right transverse sinus
- Right transverse sinuses
- Lateral sinus
- Lateral sinuses
- Right lateral sinus
- Right lateral sinuses
- Left lateral sinus
- Left lateral sinuses
The paired left and right transverse sinuses, or lateral sinuses, are major dural venous sinuses and arise from the confluence of the superior sagittal, occipital and straight sinuses at the torcular herophili (confluence of sinuses).
On each side, the transverse sinus then runs in the lateral border of the tentorium cerebelli and grooves the occipital and squamous temporal bones. In their anterolateral portion they receive the inferior anastomotic vein (of Labbé). They terminate in the sigmoid sinus just as it receives the superior petrosal sinus from the cavernous sinus. In turn, the sigmoid sinuses continue as the jugular bulbs in the skull base.
Variant anatomy
The transverse sinuses exhibit highly variable anatomy, which at times makes imaging evaluation of them, in those with possible dural venous sinus thrombosis, very difficult. For example, one study demonstrated 1:
39% hypoplasia of the left sinus
31% symmetric
20% aplasia of the left sinus
6% hypoplasia of the right sinus
4% aplasia of the right sinus
Related pathology
Quiz questions
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References
- 1. Alper F, Kantarci M, Dane S, Gumustekin K, Onbas O, Durur I. Importance of anatomical asymmetries of transverse sinuses: an MR venographic study. Cerebrovascular diseases (Basel, Switzerland). 18 (3): 236-9. doi:10.1159/000079960 - Pubmed
Incoming Links
Articles:
- Central nervous system curriculum
- Tentorium cerebelli
- Venous distension sign
- Hyperdense vessel sign
- Combined conduit score of sinovenous stenosis
- Mastoid part of temporal bone
- Confluence of sinuses
- Transverse sinus stenosis
- Arachnoid granulation
- Cerebral venous system
- Spetzler-Martin arteriovenous malformation grading system
- Vein of Galen aneurysmal malformation
- Superior petrosal sinus
- Dural venous sinuses
- Cerebellum
- Dural arteriovenous fistula
- Inferior anastomotic vein
- Occipital bone
- Caroticocavernous fistula
- Superficial middle cerebral vein
Cases:
- Hypoplastic transverse dural venous sinus
- Cerebral venous thrombosis
- Pachymeningeal and skull metastasis
- Meningioma
- Traumatic delivery
- Solitary fibrous tumor of the dura
- Brain herniation into the right transverse dural sinuses
- Central neurocytoma
- Cerebral venous infarction
- Cerebellopontine angle meningioma
- Venous vascular territories of the medial cerebral cortex (illustration)
- Venous vascular territories of the lateral cerebral cortex (illustration)
- Intracranial hypertension secondary to cerebral venous thrombosis
- Cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT)
- Transverse sinus thrombosis
- Developmental venous anomaly
- Transverse venous sinus aneurysm
- Postpartum cerebral venous thrombosis with haemorrhagic venous infarcts
- Cerebral venous thrombosis in patient with focal cortical dysplasia
- Giant cerebral arteriovenous malformation
Multiple choice questions:
Related articles: Anatomy: Brain
-
brain
- grey matter
- white matter
-
cerebrum
-
cerebral hemisphere (telencephalon)
- cerebral lobes and gyri
- frontal lobe
- parietal lobe
-
occipital lobe
- occipital pole
- lingual gyrus
- fusiform gyrus (Brodmann area 37)
- calcarine (visual) cortex
- cuneus
- temporal lobe
- basal forebrain
- limbic system
- insula
-
cerebral sulci and fissures (A-Z)
- calcarine fissure
- callosal sulcus
- central (Rolandic) sulcus
- cingulate sulcus
- collateral sulcus
- inferior frontal sulcus
- inferior occipital sulcus
- inferior temporal sulcus
- interhemispheric fissure
- intraparietal sulcus
- lateral (Sylvian) sulcus
- lateral occipital sulcus
- marginal sulcus
- occipitotemporal sulcus
- olfactory sulcus
- paracentral sulcus
- paraolfactory sulcus
- parieto-occipital fissure
- posterior parolfactory sulcus
- precentral sulcus
- preoccipital notch
- postcentral sulcus
- rhinal sulcus
- rostral sulcus
- subparietal sulcus
- superior frontal sulcus
- superior occipital sulcus
- superior temporal sulcus
- cortical histology
- cerebral lobes and gyri
- white matter tracts
- deep grey matter
-
pituitary gland
- posterior pituitary and stalk (part of diencephalon)
- anterior pituitary
- inferior hypophyseal arterial circle
- diencephalon
-
cerebral hemisphere (telencephalon)
-
brainstem
- midbrain (mesencephalon)
- pons (part of metencephalon)
- medulla oblongata (myelencephalon)
- white matter
-
grey matter
- non-cranial nerve
-
cranial nerve nuclei
- oculomotor nucleus
- Edinger-Westphal nucleus
- trochlear nucleus
- motor nucleus of CN V
- mesencephalic nucleus of CN V
- main sensory nucleus of CN V
- spinal nucleus of CN V
- abducent nucleus
- facial nucleus
- superior salivatory nucleus
- cochlear nuclei
- vestibular nuclei
- inferior salivatory nucleus
- solitary tract nucleus
- ambiguus nucleus
- dorsal vagal motor nucleus
- hypoglossal nucleus
-
cerebellum (part of metencephalon)
- vermis
- cerebellar hemisphere
- cerebellar peduncles
- cranial meninges (meninx primitiva)
- CSF spaces
-
cranial nerves (mnemonic)
- olfactory nerve (CN I)
- optic nerve (CN II)
- oculomotor nerve (CN III)
- trochlear nerve (CN IV)
- trigeminal nerve (CN V) (mnemonic)
- abducens nerve (CN VI)
- facial nerve (CN VII) (segments mnemonic | branches mnemonic)
-
vestibulocochlear nerve (CN VIII)
- vestibular ganglion (Scarpa's ganglion)
- glossopharyngeal nerve (CN IX)
- vagus nerve (CN X)
- spinal accessory nerve (CN XI)
- hypoglossal nerve (CN XII)
- functional neuroanatomy
- CNS development
- cerebral vascular supply
- arteries
- vascular territories
-
circle of Willis
- internal carotid artery (ICA) (segments)
- vertebral artery
-
normal variants
- intracranial arterial fenestration
- internal carotid artery (ICA)
- anterior cerebral artery (ACA)
- middle cerebral artery (MCA)
- posterior cerebral artery (PCA)
- basilar artery
- persistent carotid-vertebrobasilar artery anastomoses (mnemonic)
- vertebral artery
- ophthalmic artery
-
cerebral venous system
-
dural venous sinuses
- basilar venous plexus
- cavernous sinus (mnemonic)
- clival diploic veins
- inferior petro-occipital vein
- inferior petrosal sinus
- inferior sagittal sinus
- intercavernous sinus
- internal carotid artery venous plexus of Rektorzik
- jugular bulb
- marginal sinus
- occipital sinus
- sigmoid sinus
- sphenoparietal sinus
- straight sinus
- superior petrosal sinus
- superior sagittal sinus
- torcula herophili
- transverse sinus
-
cerebral veins
-
superficial veins of the brain
- superior cerebral veins (superficial cerebral veins)
- inferior cerebral veins
- superficial middle cerebral vein
- superior anastomotic vein (of Trolard)
- inferior anastomotic vein (of Labbe)
-
superficial veins of the brain
-
deep veins of the brain
- great cerebral vein (of Galen)
- venous circle of Trolard
- normal variants
-
dural venous sinuses
- arteries
- glymphatic pathway
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