The arterial supply of the dura mater of the Rhesus monkey.

A study of the dural blood supply in 20 specimens by dissection, corrosion preparations and cleared specimens indicates that the dural arteries are similar to those of man yet significant differences were noted. The anterior cranial fossa is supplied by small twigs which spread through the dura of the anterior cranial fossa floor. The larger branch, the anterior meningeal artery, perforates the lateral orbital wall and supplies the lateral wall of anterior and middle cranial fossae. The middle meningeal artery, of the maxillary artery, divides into two branches in the floor of the middle fossa. The anterior or frontal branch always anastomoses with the anterior meningeal artery. Sometimes it also continues upward to the lateral wall of the middle fossa to supply it. The posterior middle meningeal branch passes backward to supply the parietal area. The posterior meningeal artery, of the occipital artery, enters the skull near the beginning of the sigmoid sinus and follows the general course of the lambdoidal suture. The arterial supply of the dura mater in the Rhesus monkey is similar to that of man, yet several characteristics are worthy of note. Because of the importance of the dural blood supply in certain experimental neurological and surgical studies, we felt that a description of the arterial supply of the dura mater in the Rhesus monkey would be of value. Our interest in this problem was initiated through studies of the anatomy of the Rhesus monkey (Schwartz and Huelke, ’63; CastelIi and Huelke, ’65). MATERIALS AND METHODS In this study 20 young Rhesus monkeys, typical of those used in neurological experiments, were used. Twelve of the specimens were unembalmed. All animals were injected through the common carotid arteries; red latex, Teichmann’s paste (Teichmann, ’ 52) , or a modified Schlessinger’s radiopaque media (Reiner and Rodriguez, ’57) was used. The 12 unembalmed specimens were injected with Teichmann’s paste and with the radiopaque material. The heads were cut sagittally and fixed in 10% formalin solution. The brains of those injected with the radiopaque media and the soft tissues covering the skull were removed. The temporalis muscle was detached from its origin and cut transversely at the level of the ANAT. REC., 152: 155-160. zygomatic arch. In this way all the superficial arteries were removed and only those arteries of the dura mater would appear in the radiographs. The calvariae of the specimens injected with Teichmann’s paste were separated from the facial structures and all soft tissues removed from the calvariae except for the dura mater. The specimens were then decalcified and cleared (Teichmann, ’52). The embalmed material was injected with red latex, the heads cut sagittally, and the dura mater carefully dissected in order to determine the vascular pathways of the meningeal arteries. All arteries were followed from their point of origin. Sketches of the arterial patterns were made, and the pathways of the vessels were illustrated with reference to certain cranial landmarks. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Anterior meningeal artery. In the Rhesus monkey the anterior meningeal artery arises from the ophthalmic artery within the orbit and perforates the orbit at the junction of the superior and lateral orbital walls; it then follows the curvature of the lesser wing of the sphenoid (fig. 1). Commonly this vessel is very large and was IThis investigation was supported, in part, by USPHS research grant DE-00895 from the National Institute of Dental Research, National Institutes of Health.