Superior petrosal sinus

The superior petrosal sinus, within the human head, is an area beneath the brain, which allows blood veins to span the area, from the center of the head downward. It drains from the cavernous sinus (beneath the brain) to the transverse sinuses, which lead further to the internal jugular vein. See diagram (at right): labeled under the brain as "S. PETROS. SUP." (for Latin: sinus petrosus superior).

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The superior petrosal sinus, small and narrow, connects the cavernous with the transverse sinus.

It runs lateralward and backward, from the posterior end of the cavernous sinus, over the trigeminal nerve, and lies in the attached margin of the tentorium cerebelli and in the superior petrosal sulcus of the temporal bone; it joins the transverse sinus where the latter curves downward on the inner surface of the mastoid part of the temporal.

It receives some cerebellar and inferior cerebral veins, and veins from the tympanic cavity.

Additional images

See also

• Dural venous sinuses

References

This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated. Please edit the article if this is the case, and feel free to remove this notice when it is no longer relevant.