a large, unpaired vein formed by the junction of the two internal cerebral veins in the caudal part of the tela choroidea of the third ventricle; it passes caudally between the splenium of the corpus callosum and the pineal gland, curving dorsally to merge with the inferior sagittal sinus to form the straight sinus. SYN: great cerebral vein [TA], vena magna cerebri [TA], great vein of Galen.