Easy To Remember Cavernous Sinus Mnemonic | Cavernous Sinus Contents



Cavernous sinuses are paired dural venous sinuses located in the middle cranial fossa on the side of the body of sphenoid bone.

According to Wikipedia : The cavernous sinus within the human head, is a true dural venous sinus (not a venous plexus) creating a cavity called the lateral sellar compartment bordered by the temporal bone of the skull and the sphenoid bone, lateral to the sella turcica.

Cavernous Sinus Mnemonic (Contents)

The structures inside and beside the cavernous sinus and their relative positions can be recalled with the following mnemonic.

Mnemonics is O TOM CAT

'O TOM' are the first letters of components of the lateral wall of cavernous sinus considered vertically, from the top to the bottom. CA are the first letters of the structures located within the sinus. CA continues virtually at the level of the T of 'O TOM'. So that the T represents the point of conjunction of the two words.

Mnemonic Guide:

O for Oculomotor nerve
T  for  Trochlear nerve

O  for Ophthalmic branch of trigeminal nerve

M  for  Maxillary branch of trigeminal nerve

C for Internal carotid artery
A for  Abducens nerve
T for Trochlear nerve

Points to Ponder for Cavernus Sinus: 

• The pituitary gland lies between the two paired cavernous sinuses. It is the only anatomic location in the body in which an artery travels completely through a venous structure.

• The mandibular branch of the trigeminal nerve is not associated with the cavernous sinus since it has descended vertically through the foramen ovale underneath the trigeminal ganglion(Gasser ganglion), which is anatomically posteriorly to the cavernous sinus.

• The maxillary branch of the trigeminal nerve is external but immediately adjacent to the lateral wall of the cavernous sinus, which becomes important in the differential diagnosis of lesions of the cavernous sinus - lesions of this nerve tends to distort the sinus rather than occupy it.

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