Brain – Arterial Supply

Brain – Arterial Supply

Question 1. Write a short note on the basilar artery. Give its branches.
Answer.

Formation and termination

• It is formed by the two vertebral arteries at the lower border of the pons.
• It runs upwards and forwards in the midline groove on the ventral aspect of the pons.
• On reaching the upper border of the pons, it divides into right and left terminal branches – the posterior cerebral arteries.

Basilar artery

Branches The branches of the basilar artery:

• Anterior inferior cerebellar arteries
• Labyrinthine arteries
• Pontine branches
• Superior cerebellar arteries
• Posterior cerebral arteries (terminal branches)

Arterial supply of the cerebral hemisphere

Question 2. Describe briefly the arterial supply of the superolateral surface of the cerebral hemisphere.
Answer.

• The narrow strip of about an inch breadth along its superomedial border as far as the parieto-occipital sulcus is supplied by the anterior cerebral artery.
• The occipital lobe and narrow strip along the lower border of the temporal lobe, excluding the temporal pole (the inferior temporal gyrus), is supplied by the posterior cerebral artery.
• The rest of the superolateral surface is supplied by the middle cerebral artery.

Posterior cerebral artery

The arterial supply of the superolateral surface of the cerebral hemisphere.