The Veins of the Posterior Fossa : Normal and Pathologic Findings

It is a privilege and pleasure to write a foreword to this work. Who, twenty years ago, would have thought that a whole book could be devoted to the veins of the posterior fossa? Even today the standard text-books of anatomy only give a paragraph to the subject. Thanks to the dedicated work of rather a few neuroradiologists our knowledge has now reached a very sophisticated level. The careful correlation of anatomical dissection with the angiographic image has achieved this, but without the aid of subtraction (discovered by a world figure in neuroradiology - Professor ZIEDSES DES PLANTES) the subject would not be as advanced as it is. The authors are to be congratulated not only for presenting the most up to date anatomical information but also for showing how wide the applications are in the clinical field by the careful analysis of displacements of veins, many of which were quite unrecognised only a very few years ago. Drs W ACKENHEIM and BRAUN are in the forefront of this discipline to which they and the French school have contributed so much. Also it was their great enthusiasm and drive which led to the birth of the European Society of Neuroradiology, the first meeting of which was held in Colmar in September 1969. The Society has flourished under their guidance and very successful annual meetings have been held for nearly a decade.

A. Introduction.- B. Historical Background.- C. Practical Methodology.- 1. The Basal Veins and Their Tributaries.- 2. The Superior and Inferior Vermian Veins.- 3. The Precentral Vein.- 4. The Peduncular and Pontine Veins.- 5. The Superior Petrosal Veins and Their Tributaries.- D. Normal Findings.- I. The Venous Sinuses.- II. The Emissary Veins.- 1. The Occipital Emissary Veins.- 2. The Anterior and Posterior Condylar Veins.- 3. The Mastoid Emissary Vein.- III. The Great Vein of Galen and Its Tributaries.- 1. The Internal Cerebral Vein.- a) The Pellucidal Vein.- b) The Vein of the Caudate Nucleus.- c) The Superior Choroidal Vein.- d) The Ventricular or Subependymal Veins.- e) The Anterior Thalamic Vein.- f) The Striothalamic Vein.- 2. The Basal Vein.- a) Origin of the Basal Vein.- b) Trunk of the Basal Vein.- c) Tributaries of the Basal Vein.- d) Veins of the Cerebral Peduncles.- e) Variations in the Drainage of the Basal Vein.- 3. The Posterior Mesencephalic Vein.- 4. The Precentral, Paracentral and Postcentral Veins.- a) The Precentral Vein.- b) The Paracentral Vein.- c) The Postcentral Vein.- 5. The Anterosuperior Cerebellar Hemispheric Vein.- 6. The Internal Occipital Veins.- 7. The Posterior Pericallosal Vein (Posterior Cerebral Vein).- 8. The Superior Thalamic Veins.- 9. The Superior Vermian Vein.- 10. The Veins of the Quadrigeminal Plate.- 11. The Veins of the Pineal Gland.- IV. The Petrosal Veins.- 1. The Superior Petrous Vein.- 2. The Inferior Petrous Vein.- V. The Superficial Veins of the Pons.- 1. The Transversal Pontine Veins.- 2. The Longitudinal Pontine Veins.- VI. The Lateral Mesencephalic Veins.- VII. The Cerebellar Hemispheric Veins.- 1. The Anterior Group.- 2. The Posterior Group.- 3. The Medial Group.- VIII. The Veins of the Medulla Oblongata and of the Fourth Ventricle.- 1. Anatomical Study.- a) The Anterior Bulbar Veins.- b) The Lateral Bulbar Veins.- c) The Posterior Bulbar Veins.- 2. Radiographic Study.- a) The Lateral Medullopontine Veins.- b) The Medial Bulbar Vein.- c) The Transversal Medullopontine Vein.- d) The Marginal Veins of the Fourth Ventricle.- IX. The Vein of the Lateral Recess of the Fourth Ventricle.- 1. Anatomical Study.- 2. Phlebographic Study.- a) Morphologic and Topographic Study of the Vein of the Lateral Recess of the Fourth Ventriclein a Frontal Projection.- b) Morphologic and Topographic Study of the Vein of the Lateral Recess of the Fourth Ventricle in Lateral Projection.- X. The Lateral Medullopontine Vein.- XI. The Inferior Vermian Vein.- XII. The Vein of the Tentorial Margin.- XIII. Venous Drainage of the Craniocervical Junction.- 1. The Internal Jugular Vein.- 2. The Posterior Jugular Vein.- 3. The Vertebral Vein.- 4. Anastomoses.- XIV. Venous Landmarks as Observed in Normal Vertebral Angiography.- 1. The Copular Point of Huang.- 2. The Anteroinferior Cerebellar Vermis.- 3. The Isthmus of the Mesencephalon.- 4. The Lateral Groove of the Medulla Oblongata.- 5. The Cerebral Peduncle.- 6. The Pons.- 7. The Quadrigeminal Plate.- 8. The Cerebellopontine Angle.- 9. The Anteroposterior Localization.- Figures 1 to 81.- E. Pathologic Findings.- I. Pathology of the Venous Sinuses.- 1. Thromboses of the Lateral Sinus.- 2. Extracerebral Tumors Touching the Sinuses.- a) Cranial Tumors.- b) Meningiomas.- c) Jugular Glomus Tumors.- II. Venous Signs of Hydrocephalus in Children.- 1. Noncommunicating Hydrocephalus.- a) Venous Signs of Congenital Stenosis of the Aqueduct of Sylvius.- b) Venous Signs of a Tumor Responsible for Compression of the Aqueduct of Sylvius.- c) Direct Venous Signs of Vascular Malformation Localized in the Aqueduct of Sylvius.- 2. Communicating Hydrocephalus.- 3. Hydranencephaly.- 4. Hydroma.- III. Intracranial Hypertension and Herniations.- 1. Herniations.- a) Cerebellar or Transtentorial Herniation.- b) Hernia of the Superior Vermis or Hernia of the Superior Vermis in the Subdural Supravermian Space.- c) Tonsillar Herniation.- d) Temporal Herniation.- e) Associated Herniations.- IV. Tumors of the Fourth Ventricle.- V. Tumors of the Brain Stem.- 1. Tumors of the Cerebral Peduncles.- 2. Tumors of the Pons.- 3. Tumors of the Medulla Oblongata.- VI. Tumors of the Mesencephalon and the Thalamus.- VII. Tumors of the Cerebellar Hemispheres.- VIII. Tumors of the Cerebellopontine Angle.- IX. Hemangioblastomas and Vascular Malformations.- X. Congenital Malformations.- Figures 82 to 171.