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2.10. Deeper Dive: Dural Venous Sinuses

What is a Deeper Dive?

I am an anatomist by training and these ‘Deeper Dives’ are designed to give you a more in-depth look at the anatomy of a particular region that is related to neuroscience. This isn’t introductory stuff – it’s pretty detailed, so if you’re only starting out on learning neuroanatomy/neuroscience, this might be over-the-top – still good background reading though!
Dural venous sinuses are spaces in the cranial cavity through which venous blood drains. They receive blood from:

  • Emissary veins – these veins connect superficial veins in the scalp with the veins and sinuses inside the cranial cavity.
  • Diploic veins – these veins drain the diploe, which is the space in-between the two layers of compact bone that make up the calvarium (skullcap).
  • Cerebral veins – these veins drain the cerebral hemispheres.

The Main Dural Venous Sinuses

The main dural venous sinuses are as follows:

  • Confluence of sinuses – this is where many of the sinuses meet; it lies deep to the occipital protuberance, which you can palpate in the midline of the occipital bone).
  • Superior sagittal sinus (in the superior portion of the falx cerebri).
  • Inferior sagittal sinus (in the inferior portion of the falx cerebri).
  • Transverse sinuses (left and right, in the tentorium cerebelli).
  • Straight sinus (connects the inferior sagittal sinus with the left transverse sinus).
  • Sigmoidal sinuses (left and right), which drain the transverse sinuses; these also become continuous with the internal jugular veins on each side.
  • Occipital sinus, which drains upwards along the centre of the internal aspect of the occipital bone to enter the confluence of sinuses.
  • Sphenoparietal sinuses (left and right), which drains along the lesser wing of the sphenoid bone into the cavernous sinuses.
  • Cavernous sinuses (left and right), which are chunky squarish spaces that sit at the sides of the pituitary fossa and body of the sphenoid.

There are also superior and inferior petrosal sinuses (left and right) but I have omitted these for brevity as the list above is already quite long!

Typical Courses

The typical course for blood in these sinuses is as follows:


  • Cortical veins, superior sagittal sinus, confluence of sinuses, right transverse sinus, right sigmoidal sinus and finally the right internal jugular vein.
  • Great cerebral vein/vein of Galen, Inferior sagittal sinus, straight sinus, confluence of sinuses, left transverse sinus, left sigmoidal sinus and finally the left internal jugular vein.
  • Left/right sphenoparietal sinus, left/right cavernous sinus, left/right superior or inferior petrosal sinus, left/right sigmoidal sinus and finally the left/right internal jugular vein.*

Note that the cavernous sinus also drains via the superior petrosal sinuses, the venous plexuses of the internal carotid artery and potentially superior ophthalmic veins.

Clinical Top Tip:

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