Purpose or Case Report: The purpose of this exhibit is to provide radiologists at various levels of training with a concise and comprehensive illustrated review of anomalies associated with persistence of the falcine sinus. The exhibit will rely on literature review, illustrations, and multimodality imaging from patients with persistent falcine sinus associations.
Methods & Materials: 1. Review the relevant anatomy and embryology of the cerebral venous system, focusing on the falcine sinus.
2. Review common normal anatomic variants of the cerebral venous system.
3. For each of the following anomalies associated with persistence of the falcine sinus, characterize the anomaly, presentation, imaging findings, work up, treatment, and prognosis:
-medial prosencephalic vein (vein of Galen) malformation with fetal MRI
-atretic occipito-parietal meningocele
-agenesis of the corpus callosum
-acrocephalosyndactyly (Apert syndrome)
-osteogenesis imperfecta
-Chiari malformation Type II
-bifid cranium
-absent or dysplastic tentorium cerebelli
-bilateral giant parietal foramina
-sinus thrombosis associated with falcine sinus
Results: Example cases:
- 2mo M with 7q11.23 micro deletion and developmental delay presented with leaking atretic parietal meningocele.
- 21mo F with median prosencephalic vein malformation requiring embolization.
- 3mo M with persistent falcine sinus and thrombosed superior sagittal sinus requiring recanalization.
Conclusions: The falcine sinus is a normal embryological structure within the falx cerebri, which drains the cerebral venous system to the superior sagittal sinus. Though it typically involutes after birth, a persistent falcine sinus may be associated with a number of anomalies. Understanding normal anatomic variants as well as the anomalies associated with persistence of the falcine sinus is important to ensure proper work up, diagnosis, and treatment of associated pathology.