PONTINE VEINS - MRI CROSS-SECTIONAL ANATOMY

The pens is covered by a rich venous network offering numerous vascula r landmarks in MRI and during surgery. We present an original study of the veins as they appear on MR multiplanar scans after gadolinium TV injection. This prospective study is based on 40 consecutive patients with normal posterior fossa structures. One of the major venous collec tors follows the pens: the superior petrosal v. was identified on MRT in 95% of our cases. Its hooklike extremity drains into the superior p etrosal sinus. The inferior petrosal v. was never identifiable. The su perficial pontine venous network are identified in 72.5% of cases in t he axial plane and were organised in longitudinal and transverse colle ctors, whose MR aspects are presented here.