Internal carotid artery venous plexus of Rektorzik

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Internal carotid artery venous plexus of Rektorzik (also known as the petro-occipital venous plexus) is a plexus of small veins that surrounds the petrous segment internal carotid artery proximal to the cavernous sinus as it passes through the base of skull.

It is believed that the plexus serves to dampen arterial pulsations of the carotid artery, thereby reducing osseous transmission of sound to the cochlea . The plexus appears thickest between the carotid and the point closest to the cochlea, supporting this hypothesis .

The venous plexus of Rektorzik communicates with a number of regional veins .