Diploic veins, also known as veins of Breschet, are intraosseous venous vessels immersed in the cancellous bone of the skull that is called diploë.
There are four main groups of diploic veins: frontal, anterior temporal, posterior temporal and occipital diploic veins. Their function is to drain the venous blood from the cranial bones to the dural venous sinuses and other intracranial and extracranial veins.
The diploë of the cranial bones contains a web of small corridors called diploic channels. Diploic channels house the diploic venous system which collects the venous blood from the diploë. Diploic veins drain the diploic venous system into emissary veins, which subsequently empty into the dural venous sinuses and meningeal veins. At times, the occipital diploic vein drains extracranially into the occipital vein.
Based on the skull region which they drain, diploic veins are classified in the following way;
The anterior temporal diploic vein is found on the temporal side of the head, but it traverses the diploë of the lateral part of the frontal bone. It empties into the sphenoparietal sinus.
The posterior temporal diploic vein is located in the parietal bone. It drains the venous blood to the transverse sinus.
The occipital diploic vein is the largest of all diploic veins. It is located in the diploë of the occipital bone. This vein drains either extracranially into the occipital vein, or intracranially into the transverse sinus or the confluence of sinuses.
Explore our illustrations and quizzes to learn more about the blood vessels of the skull.
Tubbs, R. S., Shoja, M. M., Loukas, M., & Bergman, R. A. (2016). Bergman’s comprehensive encyclopedia of human anatomic variation. Hoboken: Wiley Blackwell.
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