Objectives. The goal of the study was to assess the contribution of the venous system to human brain vascular catastrophe. Material and Methods. Vascular examinations comprised material consisting of 352 normal brains aged 18-71 years (162 females and 190 males) and 52 elderly corpse brains with subdural hematomas from the collection of Prof. Jerzy Dymecki, Neuropathology Dept., Psychiatry and Neurology Research Institute, Warsaw. The survey methods included injections filling vessels with LBS 3022 colored latex mixtures and image computer analysis with the BVS 6471 and BVS 6472BVS systems of Robotron Berlin (Germany), FAEG 200 of VEB Carl Zeiss Jena, as well as Cytochromics, Imtronic, Elf v-42, Scion for Windows 98, and Image J. Due to significant differences in the applied equipment, programs working in each system proved to be incompatible. Results. Subdural hematoma pathomechanisms were observed, mathematical analysis was carried out on the special susceptibility to bridge vein rupture due to mechanical characteristics (right angle, small lumen, short section), parasinus type, and vascular rupture tendency depending on skull shape (long-headed skulls seemed more susceptible than short-headed ones). Angular structures of the dura mater in the area of venous vessel penetration are discussed and hematoma capsule vessel morphology assessed. Conclusions. On cerebral athropy bridge veins get broken. Cerebral venous system plays an important role in subdural hematoma pathomechanism. Human brain venous system is characteristic for a large number of variations which considerably influence its clinical image (Adv Clin Exp Med 2010, 19, 2, 163-176).
