The brain's drainage channels
Dural venous sinuses · sinus durae matris
Channels between the layers of the brain's tough covering that drain blood from the brain.
What it does
Instead of ordinary veins, much of the brain's blood drains into channels within the dura, the brain's tough outer covering. They run along the top and back of the skull and around its base, and empty into the internal jugular veins in the neck.
Surprising fact
These sinuses also absorb the clear fluid that bathes the brain and spinal cord, returning it to the bloodstream.
Why it matters
Infections of the face and nose can, rarely, spread into the sinuses at the base of the skull, which is one reason doctors take facial infections seriously.
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Sources
Drafted with AI help; awaiting a human fact-check against these sources.
Open in the 3D atlas · Suggest a correction · Not medical advice.
3D models: Z-Anatomy & BodyParts3D (CC BY-SA 4.0 / 2.1 JP). Card text CC BY 4.0.