Carotid cavernous fistula

What it means

An abnormal connection between a carotid artery and the cavernous sinus.

The cavernous sinus is a dural venous sinus in the skull that is adjacent to the temporal bone and the sphenoid bone. The carotid cavernous fistula is a type of arteriovenous fistula that causes arterial blood to enter the cavernous sinus. Clinical findings include head, ocular, and facial pain, pulsatile proptosis, chemosis, periorbital edema, conjunctival injection, double vision, glaucoma and, visual loss.

Rare diseases that can present with this2

The range is how often this sign appears among people diagnosed with each disease — it is not a probability of having any of them. Many of these signs also occur in common, non-rare conditions. A sign on this page is a conversation to have with a clinician, not a conclusion.

Part of the broader category

Also called: Caroticocavernous fistula