Tentorium Cerebelli: Muscles, Ligaments, and Dura Mater, Part 1.

Bruno Bordoni,Maria Marcella Lagana,Marta Simonelli

doi:10.7759/cureus.5601

Abstract

The tentorium cerebelli is an integral part of the reciprocal tension membranes that divide some brain areas: the falx cerebri, the falx cerebelli, and the diaphragma sellae. The article is divided into two parts. The first part reviews the anatomy of the tentorium cerebelli, the dura mater, and the ligaments and cervical muscles connected to the tentorium. The tentorial area may be subject to trauma or surgery and knowledge of anatomy and existing relationships is essential to better understand the clinical picture. The second part reviews the systemic relationships of the tentorium cerebelli. The neurological anatomical information, which links the tentorium to the central and peripheral nervous systems, venous brain drainage. The tentorium is not just a body segment, but a systemic communication tool.

Highlights

BackgroundThe term meninges, from the Greek “membranes”, consist of three layers, which are the dura, the arachnoid, and the pia mater
The tentorium cerebelli is an integral part of the reciprocal tension membranes that divide some brain areas: the falx cerebri, the falx cerebelli, and the diaphragma sellae
The first part reviews the anatomy of the tentorium cerebelli, the dura mater, and the ligaments and cervical muscles connected to the tentorium

Summary

Introduction

The term meninges, from the Greek “membranes”, consist of three layers, which are the dura, the arachnoid, and the pia mater. Some non-encapsulated receptors, with similar functions to the Ruffini endings, show a high response in both mechanical and chemical sensibility; they are located in the connective tissue of the dura mater, in proximity to the arterial and venous vessels [14] These afferents produce vasoactive substances, able to stimulate cerebral vasodilation [14]. The arachnoid layer below the dura is thin and occupied by several trabecular structures; it has the function of shock absorber, towards the tensions received [15] It is an avascular layer separated from the pia mater from the subarachnoid cavity filled with cerebrospinal fluid [16]. One of its functional alterations will determine different cervical pathologies [37,38]

Conclusions

Disclosures