Named after 17th century French surgeon Charles Labbé who described it in his 3rd year of medical school.
The vein is a part of the superficial venous system of the brain, crosses the temporal lobe from sylvian fissure to end in ipsilateral lateral sinus mostly at the junction of transverse and sigmoid sinus. Exact location in temporal region is variable may be anterior temporal, middle temporal or posterior temporal of which middle temporal is most common. The structural anatomy of the vein itself is also variable, with a dominant single channel, multiple branching channels and even venous lakes having been described.
Vein of Labbé is also known as Inferior anastomotic vein, connects the superficial middle cerebral vein of Sylvius from sylvinan fissure to the lateral sinus.
Also important know here about Vein of Trolard, also known as superior anastomotic vein, often located in post central sulcus, connects the superficial middle cerebral vein of Sylvias from sylvian fissure to the superior sagittal sinus.
The dominance of these anastomotic veins is dictated by the relative size of the superficial middle cerebral vein and the other anastomotic vein. There is inverse relationship between the size of the superficial middle cerebral vein, the anastomotic vein of Trolard and the vein of Labbé, as all three shares a common drainage area.
Clinical significance:
Surgery : Important to know about the vein and to preserve the vein during Temporal lobectomy for temporal lobe epilepsy or Decompressive craniecotmy.
Thrombosis : isolated thrombosis of this vein is known where MR Venogram may show controversial findings like normal or congenital absent ipsilateral lateral sinus with a hemorrhagic venous infarct which may be otherwise mistaken for hemorrhagic contusion.
