Confluence of sinuses
part of the brain
The confluence of sinuses (Latin: confluens sinuum), torcular Herophili, or torcula is the connecting point of the superior sagittal sinus, straight sinus, and occipital sinus. It is below the internal occipital protuberance of the skull. It drains venous blood from the brain into the transverse sinuses. It may be affected by arteriovenous fistulas, a thrombus, major trauma, or surgical damage, and may be imaged with many radiology techniques.
Structure
The confluence of sinuses is found deep to the internal occipital protuberance of the occipital bone of the skull. This puts it inferior to the occipital lobes of the brain, and posterosuperior to the cerebellum. It connects the ends of the superior sagittal sinus, the straight sinus, and the occipital sinus. Blood from it can drain into the left and right transverse sinuses. It is lined with endothelium, with some smooth muscle.
Variation
The confluence of sinuses shows significant variation.
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This entry incorporates text from “Confluence of sinuses” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.