Meningies and Arteries (Part 3)

Question 1

___ arteries supply the dorsal and lateral aspect of the spinal cord, and ___ artery supplies the ventral cord

Answer 1

• Two posterior spinal

- one anterior spinal

Question 2

The lateral parts of the spinal cord receive blood via an anastamotic plexus tied to the pia. Major contributors to this plexus are ___ arteries that emit ___ and ___ arteries.

Answer 2

• segmental
• spinal medullary
• radicular

Question 3

Define Epidural anesthesia:

Answer 3

Solutions of anesthetics can be injected into the epidural space where they cause conduction block of adjacent spinal nerves.

Question 4

Define epidural (extradural) hemorrhage:

Answer 4

This frequently results from trauma to the side of the head where the skull is relatively thin and vulnerable to fracture. Damage to the underlying vessel, the middle meningeal artery, causes the dura mater to separate from the inner aspect of the bone. The developing hematoma compresses the underlying brain tissue.

Question 5

Define Aneurysm:

Answer 5

This is a local dilation of the wall of an artery. The majority occur near branches of vessels (mostly the internal carotid artery or its branches). The rupture that may occur can have serious consequences. Even in the absence of rupture, the dilation may cause severe compression of adjacent cranial nerves.

Question 6

Define Embolism:

Answer 6

This results from occlusion of a vessel by a clot, cells, gas, etc. This may interrupt blood supply and kill tissue.