Blood Supply To The Brain

Question 1

Wherd does the anterior circulation of the brain arise from?

What does it supply?

Answer 1

Internal carotid arteries.

Majority of the cerebral hemispheres.

Question 2

Where does the posterior circulation of the brain arise from?
What does it supply?

Answer 2

Vertebral arteries.

Brainstem, cerebellum, some of the temporal and occipital lobes.

Question 3

What does the middle cerebral artery supply?

Answer 3

Lateral aspects of the cerebral hemispheres (frontal and parietal lobes),
Superior temporal lobe.
Also give rise to lenticulostriate arteries that supply the lentiform and caudate nuclei and internal capsule.

Question 4

What does the anterior cerebral artery supply?

Answer 4

Cortical branches supply medial aspect of frontal and parietal lobes,
Corpus callosum.
Left and right anterior cerebrals anastomose at the anterior communicating artery to do this.

Question 5

What structure does the anterior communicating artery loop over?

Answer 5

Corpus callosum

Question 6

What gives rise to the basilar arteries?

Answer 6

Confluence of the vertebral arteries.

Question 7

What does the terminal bifurcation of the basilar artry give rise to?
What does this supply?

Answer 7

Posterior cerebral artery.

This supplies the occipital lobe, inferior temporal libe and thalamus

Question 8

Which branches of the posterior cerebral artery supply the thalamus?

Answer 8

Thalamoperforator and thalamogeniculate branches

Question 9

What do the posterior communicating arteries connect?

Answer 9

Posterior and middle cerebral arteries.

Question 10

What does the superior cerebellar artery supply?

Answer 10

Superior aspect of cerebellum and midbrain (alongside posterior cerebral).

Question 11

What does the anterior inferior cerebellar artery supply?

Answer 11

Anteroinferior aspect of the cerebellum (crazy!) and the lateral pons. There are also posterior inferior cerebellar arteries.

Question 12

What do the anterior spinal arteries supply?

Answer 12

Anterior 2/3 of spinal cord

Question 13

What is the artery of adamkiewicz?

Answer 13

Tributary of the lower spinal cord that is often damaged in aneurysm repair

Question 14

What is unique about the posterior spinal arteries?

What do they supply?

Answer 14

They are paired.

Supply posterior 1/3 of the spinal cord

Question 15

What would blockage of the posterior spinal arteries result in?

Answer 15

Ipsilatral loss of dorsal colum modalities.

Question 16

What would blockage of the anterior spinal arteries cause?

Answer 16

Bilateral loss of spinothalamic tract modalities,

Bilateral loss of motor function (due to loss of the cerebrospinal tract)

Question 17

Which arteries supply the superior corticospinal tract (in the pons)?
What syndrome may result as a blockage of these?

Answer 17

Pontine arteries (branches off of basilar artery).
Locked-in syndrome - complete paralysis apart from muscles supplying the eyes.

Question 18

What are the lenticulostriate arteries?

Answer 18

Branches of the middle cerebral artery, commonly occluded in stroke. Supply the internal capsule, caudate nucleus and lentiform nucleus.