An angiographic study of the vertebral venous system was carried out in 12 monkeys, and was subsequently studied in man. This system was proved to be the major outflow tract of the cerebral circulation when the body is in the upright position. In fact, the hemodynamics of this entire system were found to be conditioned by body position since these veins were also shown to be a major pathway of return from the distal part of the body when it is in the vertical position, with the head down. It is believed that this phenomenon reflects postural variations in the cerebrospinal fluid pressure.
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Dilenge et al. (1973) studied this question.