Venous drainage of the spine and spinal cord: A comprehensive review of its history, embryology, anatomy, physiology, and pathology

Clinical Anatomy

Volumn 28, Issue 1, 2015, Pages 75-87

  Griessenauer, Christoph J ^a   Raborn, Joel ^a   Foreman, Paul ^a   Shoja, Mohammadali M ^b   Loukas, Marios ^c   Tubbs, R Shane ^b,d  

^a University of Alabama at Birmingham   (United States)

^b CHILDREN S HOSPITAL   (United States)

^c ST GEORGE S UNIVERSITY   (Grenada)

^d UNIVERSITY OF DUNDEE   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

spinal cord; spine; venous

Indexed keywords

ARTERIAL CIRCULATION; ARTERIOVENOUS FISTULA; ARTERIOVENOUS MALFORMATION; CONGENITAL BLOOD VESSEL MALFORMATION; CRANIAL SINUS; DURAL ARTERIOVENOUS FISTULA; DURAL ARTERIOVENOUS FISTULA TYPE 1; EMBRYOLOGY; GRAY MATTER; HISTORY; HUMAN; INTRADURAL ARTERIOVENOUS FISTULA; INTRAMEDULLARY ARTERIOVENOUS MALFORMATIONS; JUVENILE ARTERIOVENOUS MALFORMATION; PATHOLOGICAL ANATOMY; PERIMEDULLARY ARTERIOVENOUS FISTULA; PHYSIOLOGY; REVIEW; SPINAL CORD; SPINAL CORD BLOOD FLOW; SPINAL CORD CANCER; SPINAL CORD DISEASE; SPINAL CORD DRAINAGE; SPINAL CORD INFECTION; SPINAL CORD INJURY; SPINAL ROOT; SPINAL VEIN DRAINAGE; SPINE; SPINE CANCER; SPINE DISEASE; SPINE INJURY; VENOUS CIRCULATION; WHITE MATTER; ANATOMY AND HISTOLOGY; COMPLICATION; HEMODYNAMICS; INFECTION; NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING; PATHOLOGY; PATHOPHYSIOLOGY; RADIOGRAPHY; SECONDARY; SPINAL CORD TUMOR; SPINE TUMOR; VASCULARIZATION; VEIN;

ARTERIOVENOUS FISTULA; ARTERIOVENOUS MALFORMATIONS; HEMODYNAMICS; HUMANS; INFECTION; MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING; SPINAL CORD; SPINAL CORD INJURIES; SPINAL NEOPLASMS; SPINE; VEINS;

EID: 84916937601     PISSN: 08973806     EISSN: 10982353     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1002/ca.22354     Document Type: Review

References (83)

1. Abrams H,. 1957. The vertebral and azygos venous systems, and some variations in systemic venous return. Radiology 69: 508-526.
2. Al-Mutair A, Bednar DA,. 2010. Spinal epidural hematoma. J Am Acad Orthop Surg 18: 494-502.
3. Aminoff MJ, Logue V,. 1974. The prognosis of patients with spinal vascular malformations. Brain 97: 211-218.
4. Anderson R,. 1951. Diodrast studies of the vertebral and cranial venous systems to show their probable role in cerebral metastases. J Neurosurg 8: 411-422.
5. Asakuno K, Kim P, Kawamoto T, Ogino M,. 2002. Dural arteriovenous fistula and progressive conus medullaris syndrome as complications of lumbar discectomy. Case report. J Neurosurg 97: 375-379.
6. Batson O,. 1940. The function of the vertebral veins and their role in the spread of metastases. Ann Surg 112: 138-149.
7. Berenstein A, Lasjaunias P,. 1992. Spine and spinal cord vascular lesions. In: Surgical Neuroangiography: Endovascular Treatment of Spine and Spinal Cord Lesions. Berlin: Springer-Verlag. p 1-109.
8. Biondi A, Merland JJ, Reizine D, Aymard A, Hodes JE, Lecoz P, Rey A,. 1990. Embolization with particles in thoracic intramedullary arteriovenous malformations: long-term angiographic and clinical results. Radiology 177: 651-658.
9. Boaz K, Natarajan S,. 2012. Have we forgotten the Batson plexus? J Oral Maxillofac Surg 70: 4.
10. Bock AC,. 1823. Dartstellung der Venen des Menschlichen Körpers. Leipzig: Baumgartner.
11. Bowen B, DePrima S, Pattany P, Marcillo A, Madsen P, Quencer R,. 1996. MR angiography of normal intradural vessels of the thoracolumbar spine. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol 17: 483-494.
12. Breschet G,. 1819. Essai sur les veines du rachis. Paris: Méquignon-Marvis.
13. Breschet G,. 1828-1832. Récherches Anatomiques, Physiologique et Pathologiques sur le Systéme Veineux et Spécialement sur les Cavaux Veineux des Os. Paris: Villaret et Cie.
14. Brockstein B, Johns L, Gewertz B,. 1994. Blood supply to the spinal cord: anatomic and physiologic correlations. Ann Vasc Surg 8: 394-399.
15. Brookes M, Zietman A,. 1998. Clinical Embryology: A Color Atlas and Text. Boca Raton: CRC Press.
16. Coman DR, de LR,. 1951. The role of the vertebral venous system in the metastasis of cancer to the spinal column; experiments with tumor-cell suspensions in rats and rabbits. Cancer 4: 610-618.
17. Cruveilhier J,. 1834-1836. Traité d'Anatomie Descriptive. Tome 3-ième. Veins du Rachis. Paris: Béchet Jeune.
18. Dillon WP, Norman D, Newton TH, Bolla K, Mark A,. 1989. Intradural spinal cord lesions: Gd-DTPA-enhanced MR imaging. Radiology 170: 229-237.
19. Dommisse G,. 1975. The venous drainage of the spinal cord. In: The Arteries and Veins of the Human Spinal Cord From Birth. New York: Churchill Livingstone. p 81-96.
20. Ferrell AS, Tubbs RS, Acakpo-Satchivi L, Deveikis JP, Harrigan MR,. 2009. Legacy and current understanding of the often-misunderstood Foix-Alajouanine syndrome. Historical vignette. J Neurosurg 111: 902-906.
21. Finsterer J, Bavinzski G, Ungersbock K,. 2000. Spinal dural arteriovenous fistula associated with syringomyelia. J Neuroradiol 27: 211-214.
22. Flannery T, Tan MH, Flynn P, Choudhari KA,. 2003. Delayed post-surgical development of dural arteriovenous fistula after cervical meningocele repair. Neurol India 51: 390-391.
23. Foix C, Alajouanine T,. 1926. Subacute necrotic myelitis, slowly progressive central myelitis with vascular hyperplasia, and slowly ascending, increasingly faccid amyotrphic paraplegia accompanied by albuminocytologic dissociation Rev Neurol 33: 1-42.
24. Geldof AA,. 1997. Models for cancer skeletal metastasis: a reappraisal of Batson's plexus. Anticancer Res 17: 1535-1539.
25. Gilbertson JR, Miller GM, Goldman MS, Marsh WR,. 1995. Spinal dural arteriovenous fistulas: MR and myelographic findings. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol 16: 2049-2057.
26. Gillilan L,. 1970. Veins of the spinal cord. Neurology 20.
27. Gillot C, Aaron C,. 1968. On the course of the branches of the left renal vein. Arch Anat Pathol 16: A196-202.
28. Goshgarian H,. 2003. Blood supply of the spinal cord. In:, Lin V, Cardenas D, Cutter N, Frost F, Hammond M, Lindblom L, Perkash I, Waters R, Woolsey R, editors. Spinal Cord Medicine: Principles and Practice. New York: Demos Medical Publishing.
29. Gray H,. 1918. Anatomy of the Human Body. Philadelphia: Lea & Febiger.
30. Groen R, du Toit D, Phillips F, Hoogland P, Kuizenga K, Coppes M, Muller C, Grobbelaar M, Mattyssen J,. 2004. Anatomical and pathological considerations in percutaneous vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty: A reappraisal of the vertebral venous system. Spine 29: 1465-1471.
31. Groen R, Groenewegen H, van Alphen H, Hoogland P,. 1997. Morphology of the human internal vertebral venous plexus: A cadaver study after intravenous Araldite CY 221 injection. Anat Rec 249: 285-294.
32. Harrigan MR, Deveikis JP,. 2013. Spinal vascular lesions. In:, Harrigan MR, Deveikis JP, editors. Handbook of Cerebrovascular Disease and Neurointerventional Technique, 2nd ed. New York: Humana Press. p 803-821.
33. Harris HA,. 1941. A Note on the Clinical Anatomy of the Veins, with Special Reference to the Spinal Veins. Brain 64.
34. Harvey W,. 1628. Exercitatio Anatomica de Motu Cordis et Sanguinis in Animalibus. Francofurti.
35. Hassler W, Thron A, Grote EH,. 1989. Hemodynamics of spinal dural arteriovenous fistulas. An intraoperative study. J Neurosurg 70: 360-370.
36. Heier LA, Lee BC,. 1987. A dural spinal arteriovenous malformation with epidural venous drainage: A case report. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol 8: 561-563.
37. Heller S, Meyer J, Russell E,. 1996. Spinal cord venous infarction following endoscopic sclerotherapy for esophageal varices. Neurology 47: 1081-1085.
38. Henderson F, Crockard H, Stevens J,. 1993. Spinal cord oedema due to venous stasis. Neuroradiology 35: 312-315.
39. Herlihy WF,. 1947. Revision of the venous system: role of vertebral veins. Med J Aust 1: 661-672.
40. Horn E, Theodore N, Assina R, Spetzler R, Sonntag V, Preul M,. 2008. The effects of intrathecal hypotension on tissue perfusion and pathophysiological outcome after acute spinal cord injury. Neurosurg Focus 25 (5): E12.
41. Hurst R, Grossman R,. 2000. Peripheral spinal cord hypointensity on T2-weighted MR images: a reliable imaging sign of venous hypertensive myelopathy. Am J Neuroradiol 21: 781-786.
42. Jellema K, Sluzewski M, van Rooij WJ, Tijssen CC, Beute GN,. 2005. Embolization of spinal dural arteriovenous fistulas: importance of occlusion of the draining vein. J Neurosurg Spine 2: 580-583.
43. Jellema K, Tijssen CC, Fijnheer R, de Groot PG, Koudstaal PJ, van Gijn J,. 2004. Spinal dural arteriovenous fistulas are not associated with prothrombotic factors. Stroke 35: 2069-2071.
44. Jinkins J,. 2000. Spinal Vasculature. In:, John J, Brown B, Seigafuse S, Palumbo R, editors. Atlas of Neuroradiologic Embryology, Anatomy, and Variants. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. p 563-578.
45. Kataoka H, Miyamoto S, Nagata I, Ueba T, Hashimoto N,. 2001. Venous congestion is a major cause of neurological deterioration in spinal arteriovenous malformations. Neurosurgery 48: 1224-1229; discussion 1229-1230.
46. Koch C,. 2006. Spinal dural arteriovenous fistula. Curr Opin Neurol 19: 69-75.
47. Kominami S, Liu Y, Alvarez H, Rodesch G, Coubes P, Lasjaunias P,. 1996. A case of vertebrovertebral arteriovenous fistula presenting with subarachnoid haemorrhage. A case report. Interv Neuroradiol 2: 229-233.
48. Krishnan C, Malik J, Kerr D,. 2004. Venous hypertensive myelopathy as a potential mimic of transverse myelitis. Spinal Cord 42: 261-264.
49. Lasjaunias P, Berenstein A,. 1990. Spinal and spinal cord arteries and veins. In: Surgical Neuroangiography: Functional Vascular Anatomy of Brain, Spinal Cord, and Spine. New York: Springer-Verlag.
50. Lasjaunias P, Burrows P, Planet C,. 1986. Developmental venous anomalies (DVA): The so-called venous angioma. Neurosurg Rev 9: 233-242.
51. Lolis E, Panagouli E, Venieratos D,. 2011. Study of the ascending lumbar and iliolumbar veins: surgical anatomy, clinical implications and review of the literature. Ann Anat 193: 516-529.
52. Louis R, Ouiminga RM, Obounou D,. 1976. [The azygos or vertebro-parietal venous anastomotic system]. Bull Assoc Anat (Nancy) 60: 381-397.
53. Maccauro G, Spinelli MS, Mauro S, Perisano C, Graci C, Rosa MA,. 2011. Physiopathology of spine metastasis. Int J Surg Oncol 2011: 107969.
54. Madoz A, Desal H, Auffray-Calvier E, Isnard J, Liberge R, Taverneau C, De Kersaint-Gilly A,. 2006. [Vertebrovertebral arteriovenous fistula diagnosis and treatment: report of 8 cases and review of the literature]. J Neuroradiol 33: 319-327.
55. Major P, Resnick D, Greenway G,. 1980. Heterotopic ossification in paraplegia: a possible disturbance of the paravertebral venous plexus. Radiology 136: 797-799.
56. Mathew P, Fleming D, Adegboyega PA,. 2000. Myelophthisis as a solitary manifestation of failure from rectal carcinoma. A Batson phenomenon? Arch Pathol Lab Med 124: 1228-1230.
57. Minot C, Evans H, Tandler J, Sabin F,. 1912. The development of the blood, the vascular system, and the spleen. In:, Keibel F, Mall F, editors. Manual of Human Embryology. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company. p 669-687.
58. Moes P, Maillot C,. 1981. Superficial veins of the human spinal cord. An attempt at classification. Arch Anat Histol Embryol 64: 5-110.
59. Nathoo N, Caris EC, Wiener JA, Mendel E,. 2011. History of the vertebral venous plexus and the significant contributions of Breschet and Batson. Neurosurgery 69: 1007-1014; discussion 1014.
60. Niimi Y, Setton A, Berenstein A,. 1999. Spinal dural arteriovenous fistulae draining to the anterior spinal vein: angiographic diagnosis. Neurosurgery 44: 999-1003; discussion 1003-1004.
61. Niino M, Isu T, Tashiro K,. 1999. Nonhemorrhagic venous infarction of the spinal cord without spinal vascular malformation. J Neurol 246: 852-854.
62. Numaguchi Y, Rigamonti D, Rothman M, Sato S, Mihara F, Sadato N,. 1993. Spinal epidural abscess: evaluation with gadolinium-enhanced MR imaging. Radiographics 13: 545-559.
63. Onec B, Oksuzoglu B, Hatipoglu HG, Onec K, Azak A, Zengin N,. 2007. Cavernous sinus syndrome caused by metastatic colon carcinoma. Clin Colorectal Cancer 6: 593-596.
64. Ropper AE, Gross BA, Du R,. 2012. Surgical treatment of Type I spinal dural arteriovenous fistulas. Neurosurg Focus 32: E3.
65. Rosenblum B, Oldfield EH, Doppman JL, Di Chiro G,. 1987. Spinal arteriovenous malformations: A comparison of dural arteriovenous fistulas and intradural AVM's in 81 patients. J Neurosurg 67: 795-802.
66. Ross R,. 1985. Spinal cord infarction in disease and surgery of the aorta. Can J Neurol Sci 12: 289-295.
67. Sabin F,. 1915. Development of the veins in the embryo pig. In:, Streeter G, editor. Contributions to Embryology. Washington, D.C.: Carnegie Institution of Washington. p 12-26.
68. Santillan A, Nacarino V, Greenberg E, Riina H, Gobin Y, Patsalides A,. 2012. Vascular anatomy of the spinal cord. J NeuroIntervent Surg 4: 67-74.
69. Spetzler RF, Detwiler PW, Riina HA, Porter RW,. 2002. Modified classification of spinal cord vascular lesions. J Neurosurg 96: 145-156.
70. Spetzler RF, Zabramski JM, Flom RA,. 1989. Management of juvenile spinal AVM's by embolization and operative excision. Case report. J Neurosurg 70: 628-632.
71. Steinmetz MP, Chow MM, Krishnaney AA, Andrews-Hinders D, Benzel EC, Masaryk TJ, Mayberg MR, Rasmussen PA,. 2004. Outcome after the treatment of spinal dural arteriovenous fistulae: A contemporary single-institution series and meta-analysis. Neurosurgery 55: 77-87; discussion 87-78.
72. Stringer MD, Restieaux M, Fisher AL, Crosado B,. 2012. The vertebral venous plexuses: The internal veins are muscular and external veins have valves. Clin Anat 25: 609-618.
73. Takai K, Taniguchi M,. 2012. Comparative analysis of spinal extradural arteriovenous fistulas with or without intradural venous drainage: A systematic literature review. Neurosurg Focus 32.
74. Thron A, Rossberg C,. 1988. Vascular Anatomy of the Spinal Cord: Neuroradiological Investigations and Clinical Syndromes. New York: Springer.
75. Tobinick E, Vega C,. 2006. The cerebrospinal venous system: anatomy, physiology, and clinical implications. MedGenMed 8: 53.
76. Tubbs RS, Hansasuta A, Loukas M, Louis RG, Jr., Shoja MM, Salter EG, Oakes WJ., 2007. The basilar venous plexus. Clin Anat 20: 755-759.
77. van der Kuip M, Hoogland P, Groen R,. 1999. Human radicular veins: regulation of venous reflux in the absence of valves. Anat Rec 254: 173-180.
78. Vankan Y, Demaerel P, Heye S, Van Calenbergh F, van Loon J, Maleux G, Wilms G,. 2004. Dural arteriovenous fistula as a late complication of upper cervical spine fracture. Case report. J Neurosurg 100: 382-384.
79. Vishteh AG, Sankhla S, Anson JA, Zabramski JM, Spetzler RF,. 1997. Surgical resection of intramedullary spinal cord cavernous malformations: delayed complications, long-term outcomes, and association with cryptic venous malformations. Neurosurgery 41: 1094-1100; discussion 1100-1091.
80. Wang Q, Song D, Chen G,. 2011. Endovascular treatment of high-flow cervical direct vertebro-vertebral arteriovenous fistula with detachable coils and Onyx liquid embolic agent. Acta Neurochir (Wien) 153: 347-352.
81. Zawiliński J, Litwin J, Nowogrodzka-Zagõrska M, Gorczyca J, Miodoński A,. 2001. Vascular system of the human spinal cord in the prenatal period: A dye injection and corrosion casting study. Ann Anat 183: 331-340.
82. Zivadinov R, Ramanathan M, Dolic K, Marr K, Karmon Y, Siddiqui A, Benedict R, Weinstock-Guttman B,. 2011. Chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency in multiple sclerosis: diagnostic, pathogenetic, clinical and treatment perspectives. Expert Rev Neurother 11: 1277-1294.
83. Zozulya YP, Slin'ko EI, Al Q, II,. 2006. Spinal arteriovenous malformations: New classification and surgical treatment. Neurosurg Focus 20: E7.