dural venous sinus

dural venous sinus (plural dural venous sinuses)

1. (anatomy) Any of numerous venous channels (as the sagittal sinuses, straight sinus, and transverse sinuses) that are situated between the two layers of the dura mater, that have no valves, and that drain blood from the brain and the bones forming the cranium and empty it into the internal jugular vein.

   Synonyms: cerebral sinus, cranial sinus, dural sinus, sinus of the dura mater

   Meronyms: cavernous sinus, confluence of sinuses, inferior petrosal sinus, inferior sagittal sinus, occipital sinus, sigmoid sinus, sphenoparietal sinus, straight sinus, superior petrosal sinus, superior sagittal sinus, transverse sinus

• “sinus of the dura mater”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.