[Arteriosinus anastomoses of the posterior cranial fossa (pathologic anatomy)]

Postmortem examination of the brain of 10 patients with occipito-sinus anastomoses showed that the morphological basis of this vascular pathology is an anatomical developmental defect of vessels of the system of the external and internal carotid arteries and dura mater sinuses with disturbed histological structure of their walls. Severe abnormality of calcium metabolism of the type of systemic calciphilaxis with involvement of the brain and viscera is encountered simultaneously in some cases. The combination of these pathological processes leads finally to gradually increasing circulatory disorders, brain hypoxia, and severe damage to the brain matter.