Video: Falx cerebri

Hello everyone! This is Matt from Kenhub, and in this tutorial, we will be looking at one of the infoldings of the cranial dura mater, the falx cerebri. To begin, the dura mater is the outermost layer of the meninges which are the three connective tissue membranes enveloping the brain and spinal cord. Dura mater is comprised of two layers – the outermost periosteal layer and the inner meningeal layer.

In the cranium, the inner meningeal layer of the cranial dura mater forms infoldings – which are inward reflections upon itself – which project into the cranial cavity. There are four cranial dural infoldings but we will only be discussing the largest one in this video – the falx cerebri.

The falx cerebri highlighted in green is the largest dural infolding. It is sickle shaped and lies at the midline between the two cerebral hemispheres separating them. Anteriorly, the falx cerebri is attached to the internal frontal crest and the crista galli. It is narrower in the front and broader in the back. Posteriorly, it blends with the upper surface of the tentorium cerebelli – highlighted here.

The periosteal and inner meningeal layers of the cranial dura mater also contribute to the formation of dural venous sinuses, which enable the brain's venous blood to be drained at the internal jugular vein. The falx cerebri contains two dural venous sinuses.

The superior sagittal sinus shown in green runs along the upper fixed margin of the falx cerebri where the two cerebral hemispheres are separated at the midline. It drains to the confluence of sinuses – shown here. The inferior sagittal sinus – in green – runs within the lower free margin of the falx cerebri and drains to the straight sinus – now highlighted. The straight sinus runs along the attachment of the falx cerebri to the tentorium cerebelli. It also drains to the confluence of sinuses.

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