Video: Superior sagittal sinus

Hello everyone! This is Matt from Kenhub, and in this tutorial, we are going to be looking at the superior sagittal sinus which is one of the dural venous sinuses that drains venous blood from the brain and the meninges. The superior sagittal sinus is one of the venous channels found between the layers of the dura mater in the brain. These venous channels in the brain are known as the dural venous sinuses.

There are six paired dural venous sinuses and four unpaired dural venous sinuses in the brain. The function of these venous channels is to collect deoxygenated venous blood from the brain and channel it to the internal jugular vein. The superior sagittal sinus is one of the unpaired dural venous sinuses.

The superior sagittal sinus is situated in the longitudinal cerebral fissure. There are two sagittal sinuses that occupy the longitudinal cerebral fissure which is situated at the midline between the cerebral hemispheres. The superior sagittal sinus is the more superficial of the two sinuses located in this area. The other one being the inferior sagittal sinus which will be discussed in a separate tutorial.

The superior sagittal sinus lies within the root of the falx cerebri. It commences anteriorly from the foramen caecum in the frontal bone and follows the contour of the calvaria along the midline to its termination at the confluence of sinuses at the internal occipital protuberance.

The superior sagittal sinus receives tributaries from the superficial cortical veins that run deep to the arachnoid mater in both hemispheres. These veins pierce the arachnoid mater and the dura mater as they approach the superior sagittal sinus into which they drain their contents.

There are small pits found on either side of the superior sagittal sinus and these are known as the lateral lacunae of the superior sagittal sinus. These small pits are lateral venous expansions of the superior sagittal sinus and they contain numerous arachnoid granulations.

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