title: Head and Neck Veins of the Mouse. A Magnetic Resonance, Micro Computed Tomography and High Frequency Color Doppler Ultrasound Study.
abstract: To characterize the anatomy of the venous outflow of the mouse brain using different imaging techniques. Ten C57/black male mice (age range: 7-8 weeks) were imaged with high-frequency Ultrasound, Magnetic Resonance Angiography and ex-vivo Microcomputed tomography of the head and neck. Under general anesthesia, Ultrasound of neck veins was performed with a 20 MHz transducer; head and neck Magnetic Resonance Angiography data were collected on 9.4 T or 7 T scanners, and ex-vivo Microcomputed tomography angiography was obtained by filling the vessels with a radiopaque inert silicone rubber compound. All procedures were approved by the local ethical committee. The dorsal intracranial venous system is quite similar in mice and humans. Instead, the mouse Internal Jugular Veins are tiny vessels receiving the sigmoid sinuses and tributaries from cerebellum, occipital lobe and midbrain, while the majority of the cerebral blood, i.e. from the olfactory bulbs and fronto-parietal lobes, is apparently drained through skull base connections into the External Jugular Vein. Three main intra-extracranial anastomoses, absent in humans, are: 1) the petrosquamous sinus, draining into the posterior facial vein, 2) the veins of the olfactory bulb, draining into the superficial temporal vein through a foramen of the frontal bone 3) the cavernous sinus, draining in the External Jugular Vein through a foramen of the sphenoid bone. The anatomical structure of the mouse cranial venous outflow as depicted by Ultrasound, Microcomputed tomography and Magnetic Resonance Angiography is different from humans, with multiple connections between intra- and extra-cranial veins.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biostructures and Bioimaging, National Research Council, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Marcello
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mancini
authors.affiliation: Department of Advanced Biomedical Sciences, University "Federico II", Naples, Italy; CEINGE-Biotecnologie Avanzate, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Adelaide
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Greco
authors.affiliation: Department of Advanced Biomedical Sciences, University "Federico II", Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Enrico
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tedeschi
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biostructures and Bioimaging, National Research Council, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Palma
authors.affiliation: Department of Advanced Biomedical Sciences, University "Federico II", Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ragucci
authors.affiliation: Unit of Neuroradiology, IRCCS Foundation "Carlo Besta" Neurological Institute, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Grazia
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Bruzzone
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biostructures and Bioimaging, National Research Council, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Anna Rita Daniela
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Coda
authors.affiliation: Center for Advanced Biomaterials for Health Care@CRIB, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Enza
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Torino
authors.affiliation: Scientific Direction, IRCCS Foundation "Carlo Besta" Neurological Institute, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Scotti
authors.affiliation: Scientific Direction, IRCCS Foundation "Carlo Besta" Neurological Institute, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Ileana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Zucca
authors.affiliation: IRCCS SDN, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Salvatore
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002550:Cerebral Veins / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D018618:Echocardiography, Doppler, Color / Q000379:methods*; D006257:Head / Q000098:blood supply*; D007601:Jugular Veins / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009333:Neck / Q000098:blood supply*; D014465:Ultrasonics / Q000379:methods; D055114:X-Ray Microtomography / Q000379:methods*