title: [Neurosurgical importance of the superior petrosal venous complex].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study the microsurgical anatomy of the superior petrosal venous complex (SPVC).
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a descriptive and prospective study. Six injected specimens were used (12 sides). The microsurgical anatomy of the SPVC was studied by means of an anterior, retrosigmoid and transpetrosal approach. Neurosurgical equipment, 0-degree rigid endoscopy and OPMI-1 surgical microscope with 6× to 20× magnification were all used in this study. The venous drainage pattern toward the superior petrosal sinus was analysed, as were the formation of tributary veins, the relationship with the trigeminal nerve and the anatomical variants of SPVC.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The SPVC was present in all cases. A tributary, cerebellopontine fissure vein was identified in 100% of cases. The venous drainage pattern of the SPVC was divided into medial, intermediate and lateral with respect to the suprameatal crest. The SPVC was simple in 8 sides and duplicate in 4 sides. A triangle formed by the tentorium, the SPVC and part of the tentorial and petrosal surface of the cerebellum was also observed in the study. This triangle was called the petrosal-tentorial triangle.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It is important to understand the microsurgical anatomy of the SPVC. Therefore, we propose the petrosal-tentorial triangle as a neurosurgical route for the management of pathologies from the cerebellopontine angle to the superior petroclival region.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Neuroanatomía, Coordinación de Ciencias Morfológicas, Escuela Superior de Medicina, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, México DF, México. Electronic address: ms_aleks@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Alejandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Monroy-Sosa
authors.forename: Gonzalo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mendoza-Falcón
authors.forename: Mario Alberto
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Macías-Duvignau
authors.forename: Gervith
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Reyes-Soto
authors.forename: Yolanda
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cardenas-García
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mendizábal-Guerra
authors.forename: Albert L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Rhoton
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002530:Cerebellopontine Angle / Q000098:blood supply; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000098:blood supply*; D003392:Cranial Sinuses / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006801:Humans; D009493:Neurosurgery / Q000379:methods*; D010579:Petrous Bone / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D014277:Trigeminal Neuralgia / Q000601:surgery; D014680:Veins / Q000033:anatomy & histology