A new technique for the assessment of the draining area of a cerebral vein

BACKGROUND At present, it is not exactly clear which vein is allocated for drainage of blood to a particular area of the human brain. Knowledge of the se draining areas is very important for the understanding of occlusive veno us diseases. A method was developed that offers the possibility to investig ate the draining area of a cerebral vein, with the help of an animal model. METHODS Brains of sacrificed rabbits are removed and are anterogradely perf used with a coloring matter. Then a vein chosen at random is occluded and a nterograde perfusion is restarted using another coloring substance. The wor king hypothesis is that the part of the brain that is solely dependent for its drainage of blood upon the occluded vein (the draining area of the vein ) will show a deficit in staining after the second perfusion. RESULTS Using the above mentioned technique, no filling defect was seen if a vein was occluded near its entrance into the sinus (N = 8) or at a single point over the cortex (N = 7). If a longer trajectory (10-14 mm.) was obst ructed, a clear staining defect was seen in 13 out of 16 hemispheres; the t hree remaining cases seemed to be technical failures. CONCLUSION A new method is described to investigate the draining area of a cerebral vein. Although the validity of the method is proven in an animal m odel, it seems a good technique for investigation of human brains postmorte m. Application of this technique will contribute to the understanding of th e pathophysiology of venous diseases and also elucidate the role of the ven ous anastomotic pathways. (C) 1999 by Elsevier Science Inc.