Veins of the spinal cord

Abstract

Of all the veins in the body, those on the surface of the spinal cord have been most difficult to study. In life they are transparently thin and at postmortem when collapsed, they are difficult to identify and fragile to handle. While most authors would agree that satisfactory filling of the arterial blood vessels of the spinal cord can be achieved only by injecting the aorta in the intact body (Gillilan, 1958), little success has been reported with venous injections. In this chapter we present information on the surface veins of the spinal cord obtained by two methods of injection in the intact body: In the first, following arterial injection we have processed some specimens by Spalteholz’s clearing method excluding bleaching agents. In this way arteries have been shown filled with Micropaque (white) and the veins are filled with blood (black) (Figs. 4.1, 4.3). In the second, retrograde filling of veins by injection through the azygos system as described on page 119 has led to complete filling of the large surface veins.