Cranial cavity - general arrangement (dave's notes) Flashcards
What invests the brain?
Pia mater, composed of fibrous vascular tissue
Describe the pia mater of the spinal cord - what does it form here?
Projected laterally in the spinal column to form the denticulate line
The arachnoid is …… proof
CSF
What lies between the arachnoid and dura?
A thin layer of lymph except at the cochlear aqueduct
What traverses the subarachnoid space? Does the subarachnoid space exist at all other areas surrounding the CNS?
Obliterated at times by fusion. Cranial nerves and spinal nerve roots traverse this space.
What are arachnoid villi?
Where the arachnoid herniates through the dura
What are incongruities in the bone/brain profile known as? List four.
Subarachnoid cisterns. Cerebromedullary Pontine Interpeduncular Chiasmic
Describe the dura
The dura withstands the hydrostatic pressure and is thick fibrous tissue often continuous with the periosteum.
May be thought of as an outer layer (periosteum) and an inner layer (dura proper)
What intervenes between the dura and bone?
No substance - the dura lies on congruity with the outer periosteum
Where may the dura be easily stripped from the bone?
Over the vault
What is the tentorium cerebelli? Where does it extend from?
A flange of the inner layer from the transverse sinuses and the margins of the superior petrosal sinuses
Describe the free margin of the tentorium cerebelli. What does it suspend?
The free margin is u shaped, with the central gap accommodating the mid-brain. The midline attachment of the falx suspends the tentorium.
What is the falx cerebri?
A sickle shaped flange in the mideline between the cerebral hemispheres
What do the two layers of the falx cerebri accommodate?
The superior and inferior saggital sinuses
Where does the falx cerebri extend from and to?
From the internal occipital protuberance to the posterior margin of the foramen magnum
