Embryology of the Cavernous Sinus and Relevant Veins

Abstract

The cavernous sinus (CS) is a parasellar dural envelope containing an important venous pathway. The venous channels, which have an endothelial layer and no smooth muscle layer, are located in connective tissue. In the early embryonic stages, the neural tube is surrounded by the primitive capillary plexus and undifferentiated mesenchymal tissue, the primary meninx, and initially drains into the primary head sinus (PHS) through the anterior, middle, and posterior dural plexus (ADP, MDP, and PDP). Subsequently, following enlargement of the brain and differentiation of the mesenchyme, two major primary sinuses, the pro-otic sinus and the primitive tentorial sinus, become prominent. The pro-otic sinus is the remnant of the short segment of the PHS cranial to the MDP and the stem of the MDP. The CS originates from the plexiform channels medial to the trigeminal ganglion, namely the medial tributaries of the pro-otic sinus. The stem of the pia-arachnoidal vein draining into the ADP represents the primitive tentorial sinus. It is considerably elongated due to expansion of the cerebral hemisphere, and migrates medially toward the CS. The morphological changes in the CS and primitive tentorial sinus exhibit considerable variation in cerebral venous drainage patterns. Embryological knowledge facilitates interpretation of the anatomy of the CS, and it is useful to perform safe and beneficial endovascular treatment for the CS.