[Significance of the venous system of the spine in the formation of metastases].

The vertebral veins and their anastomoses to the other venous vascular regions are represented in their anatomy, physiological and pathophysiological function, with a special reference to the spreading of tumor cells through the veins of the vertebral column. The causes of the accumulation of metastases in the trunk skeleton and brain is pointed out by malignant tumors of the prostata, of the ren, of the lung, of the mamma, of the genital organs and the thyroid gland. The signification of the vertebral venous system as a spread of metastases is emphasized under consideration of the tumor cell kinetics in the blood-flow and the different forms of the metastatic formations, and is verifying by experienced clinical cases and reviews of the literature.