Chronic superior sagittal sinus thrombosis with phlebosclerotic changes of the subarachnoid and intracerebral veins.

An autopsy case of chronic thrombotic occlusion of the superior sagittal sinus (SSS) with an unusually protracted clinical course is reported. The patient was an 84-year-old man without any predisposing conditions for thrombosis. The clinical features were atypical and were characterized by recurrent cerebral subcortical hemorrhages. The autopsy revealed a large, organized thrombus in the SSS and extensive hemorrhagic infarction of the bilateral parasagittal region of the cerebral hemispheres. The hemorrhagic infarction was comprised of the aggregation of numerous minute foci of coagulation necrosis associated with petechial hemorrhages. Marked phlebosclerotic changes were observed in the subarachnoid and intracerebral veins, which were considered to be reactive changes of the venous walls against a persistent elevation in peripheral venous pressure caused by thrombosis of the SSS.