Lecture 10 - Cerebral Hemispheres and Vascular Supply

Question 1

What is the internal carotid artery?

Answer 1

• gives anterior circulation
• carotid bifurcation - splits to give rise to external and internal carotid arteries
• MCA is a branch of the internal carotid

Question 2

What are the vertebral arteries?

Answer 2

• gives posterior circulation
• Vertebral arteries form the basilar artery, from the back of the brain, which branches, together with the internal carotid, to give rise to the circle of willis
• Basilar artery bifurcates to give rise to posterior arteries.

Question 3

What are the branches of the MCA

Answer 3

The MCA bifurcates in the sylvian fissure giving rise to:

• superior - infarction - motor and speech problems, due to affecting the motor cortex and broca’s area.
  mostly affecting the feet/foot, because the foot is located at the top
• inferior
• insular and opercular

Question 4

What supplies the primary motor cortex?

Answer 4

Anterior cerebral artery

Question 5

What supplies the primary visual cortex?

Answer 5

pca

Question 6

What are lenticulostriate arteries?

Answer 6

These are penetrating vessels at the base of the brain.

• Arise from initial portions of MCA before it gets to the sylvian fissure
• supplies basal ganglia and internal capsule
• prone to stroke in hypertension - can cause hemiparesis due to crossing internal capsule - and brocas

Question 7

What is the recurrent artery of heubner

Answer 7

comes off the initial portion of ACA to supply portions of internal capsule, head of caudate, anterior putamen and globus palladus.

Question 8

What is the anterior choroidal artery?

Answer 8

arises from the internal carotid artery and supplies globus palladus, putamen, thalamus and posterior limb of internal capsule.

—> infarcts cause hemiparesis

Question 9

What supplies the hippocampus?

Answer 9

PCA

Question 10

What are watershed infarcts

Answer 10

hypotension can cause less blood surging up into the brain, causing lesions in the peripheries, called watershed zones.

can also happen when blood supply to two adjacent cerebral arteries is compromised, leaving the regions BETWEEN the two vessels to be most vulnerable.

bilateral watershed infarcts can happen with severe drops in blood pressure

Question 11

What are symptoms of a watershed infarct

Answer 11

• arm leg weakness (man in barrel syndrome)
• can cause aphasia symptoms in dominant side

MCA-PCA : - visual processing disturbance