This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Sign in
Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Aetiology

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

Primary, or aseptic, cerebral venous thrombosis is rare. It usually occurs in the very young, the very old, or the debilitated. Predisposing factors include:

  • anaemia
  • increased blood coagulability
  • hypotension
  • cachexia
  • dehydration

Causes of secondary thrombosis include:

  • most frequently, direct injury through a fracture of the skull or other trauma
  • spread of infection from a neighbouring site:
    • cavernous sinus and sagittal sinus thrombosis - from infection of the face, or of the sphenoid, frontal or ethmoid sinuses
    • lateral sinus thrombosis from mastoiditis
    • furunculosis and cutaneous sepsis
  • pregnancy, puerperium
  • oral contraceptive pill
  • dehydration
  • haematological disease, for example polycythaemia
  • malignancy - metastatic emboli
  • miscellaneous, including polyarteritis nodosa

Related pages

Create an account to add page annotations

Create a free account

Annotations allow you to add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation. E.g. a website or number. This information will always show when you visit this page.

The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

Connect

Copyright 2024 Oxbridge Solutions Limited, a subsidiary of OmniaMed Communications Limited. All rights reserved. Any distribution or duplication of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. Oxbridge Solutions receives funding from advertising but maintains editorial independence.