• Elsa Magro, Matthieu Delion, Francis Abed-Rabbo, Philippe Mercier, and Romuald Seizeur.
• Laboratoire d'anatomie, Faculté de médecine, CHU Brest, Avenue Camille Desmoulin, 29200, Brest, France, elsa.magro@chu-brest.fr.
• Surg Radiol Anat. 2015 Apr 1; 37 (3): 273-9.

PurposeIn order to contribute some new elements to the discussion on the organization of the vertebral veins inside the transverse canal, we compared two dissection techniques: injection/dissection and injection/corrosion. The aim of this study was to compare these two techniques to study the vertebral veins, and also to emphasize the importance of preserving specimens in anatomical museums.MethodsUsing the injection/dissection technique, latex was injected into ten specimens, then the transverse canal was opened to expose the vertebral veins and their anastomoses. Using the injection/corrosion technique, altufix was injected into eight specimens that were afterwards plunged in sulfuric acid and washed daily until complete corrosion was obtained.ResultsBoth techniques showed concordant results. The vertebral veins were plexuous, located ventro-laterally to the artery and received constant metamerical branches at each level. The injection/dissection technique conserved the anatomical relationships allowing metamerical analysis of the vertebral veins. The injection/corrosion technique, however, failed to conserve these relationships but provided a precise visualization of smaller anastomosis.ConclusionsBy analyzing different aspects of the vertebral veins anatomy in the transverse canal, the two techniques complete each other. This study emphasizes the importance of preserving the anatomical preparations: in addition to the historical and cultural value of these preparations, they contain precious information that furthers our anatomical knowledge.

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