Artery of Percheron explained
The artery of Percheron (AOP) is a rare anatomical variation in the brain vascularization in which a single arterial trunk arises from the posterior cerebral artery (PCA) to supply both sides of the thalamus and midbrain.
Clinical significance
The functions of the thalamus and midbrain include the regulation of consciousness, sleep and alertness. Occlusion of the artery of Percheron, for example by a clot, could result in a posterior circulation infarct impairing structures on both sides of the brain. This can produce a bizarre disturbance such as sleep from which the patient cannot be awakened.[1]
History
The artery of Percheron was first described in 1973 by the French medical scientist Gerard Percheron.[2] [3] [4]
Notes and References
- Web site: Think Like a Doctor: Sleeping Wife Solved! . Lisa . Sanders . February 3, 2012 . The New York Times.
- Percheron G . The anatomy of the arterial supply of the human thalamus and its use for the interpretation of the thalamic vascular pathology . Zeitschrift für Neurologie . 205 . 1 . 1–13 . August 1973 . 4126735 . 10.1007/BF00315956. 832292 .
- Agarwal N, Chaudhari A, Hansberry DR, Prestigiacomo CJ . Redefining thalamic vascularization vicariously through gerald percheron: a historical vignette . World Neurosurgery . 81 . 1 . 198–201 . January 2014 . 23314026 . 10.1016/j.wneu.2013.01.030.
- Book: IV. The Parenchymal Blood Vessels of the Upper Brainstem, Its Nuclear Configuration and Vascular Supply. The Upper Brainstem in the Human. Benno Schlesinger. 1976. 978-3-642-66257-7. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. 175–238. english.
