MICROANATOMY OF THE VESSELS OF PINEAL BODY / 解剖学报

ABSTRACT

Pineal arteries and veins of 46 adult human brains were observed and measured with stero-microscope and light microscope.According to the number of branches, the pineal arteries may be classified into four types single branched, double branched, three branched and multiple branched types. Among them the single and double branched type occur most frequently. (in 54.55% and 34.09％ respectively), the artery originates mainly from the postcromedial choroidal artery (in 69.72％), and the next more frequent origin is the the quadrigeminal artery (in 28.87%). Some pineal arteries have double origins from abovementioned arteries.Most of the starting points of pineal arteries situate in the recess between the superior colliculus and the pineal body, and less of them on the lateral side of the colliculus or beneath the splenium of the corpus callosum. The artery runs frequently forwards or medially towards the gland and enters it at the middle part of its side. Then it gives branches out of or in the capsule to the surface the gland. The branching patterns may be classified into four types and ten subtypes.The arteries vary in length from 0.2～38.4 mm. The mean external diameter of which is 0.30+0.08 mm, and the internal diameter,0.21?0.07mm.On the pineal body there are a pair of venous stems known as choroidal-pineal veins. They begin from the tela choroidea of the third ventricle. After accepting the dorsal and ventral pineal veins on the ventrolateral side of the pineal body, the two venous stems usually unite to form a single vein which converges into the great cerebral vein.