Spinal cord vascularity. V. The venous drainage of the spinal cord in the rat.

The anatomy of the spinal cord venous system has been investigated by stereomicroscopy in rats subjected to arterial or venous injections of a coloured contrast medium. The results demonstrate the arrangement of the intrinsic and the extrinsic spinal cord veins to be different from that of the arteries, a feature consistent with previous descriptions in man. An exact knowledge of the venous anatomy is considered essential in evaluating the origin of experimental vascular lesions associated with impaired spinal cord circulation.