Great cerebral vein

The great cerebral vein is one of the large blood vessels in the skull draining the cerebrum (brain). It is also known as the “vein of Galen” (VG), named for its discoverer, the Greek physician Galen. However, it is not the only vein with this eponym.

The superior cerebellar vein is formed by the union of the precentral cerebellar vein and superior vermian vein in the quadrigeminal cistern and ascends vertically as an unpaired structure to drain into the inferior aspect of the proximal (anterior) great cerebral vein of Galen ^{1) 2)}