Right embryonic posterior cerebral artery

Some patients who often suffer from headaches will go to the hospital for examination, wanting to know the cause of the headaches. Among the examination results, some people found the professional term "right embryonic posterior cerebral artery" on the examination sheet. Many people actually don’t know what the right embryonic posterior cerebral artery represents, and some even think they have some difficult and complicated disease. So, what is the right embryonic posterior cerebral artery?

Patients with embryonic posterior cerebral artery have abnormal hemodynamics, which leads to a significantly increased incidence of posterior circulation ischemia, aneurysm, hypertension and other diseases. Your frequent headaches are closely related to this.

Embryonic posterior cerebral artery is a common variation of the circle of Willis, in which the blood supply of the posterior cerebral artery comes entirely or mostly from the ipsilateral internal carotid artery. Its existence not only increases the blood supply range of the internal carotid artery, but also makes it impossible for the pial branches of the anterior and posterior circulation to anastomose. Embryonic posterior cerebral artery is associated with many diseases such as posterior circulation ischemia, intracranial aneurysm, migraine and white matter degeneration.

Posterior cerebral artery: arises from the basilar artery

Cortical branches supply the occipital lobe and base of the temporal lobe

Deep perforating branches supply brainstem, thalamus, hippocampus, geniculate body

Occlusion causes occipital cortex occlusion, which may cause contralateral hemianopsia (macular sparing); central branch occlusion can lead to thalamic infarction, manifested as thalamic syndrome: contralateral hemisensory loss, paresthesia, thalamic pain and extrapyramidal symptoms.

Main trunk occlusion causes contralateral homonymous hemianopsia, with more severe damage to the upper visual field, but macular vision may not be affected (the macular visual cortical representative area is supplied by dual blood from the middle and posterior cerebral arteries). Occlusion of the origin of the posterior cerebral artery at the midbrain level may result in vertical gaze palsy, oculomotor nerve palsy, nuclear ophthalmoplegia, and vertical torsion and strabismus of the eyeball. Involvement of the occipital lobe of the dominant hemisphere may cause anomia and alexia without agraphia. Bilateral posterior cerebral artery occlusion causes cortical blindness, memory impairment (affecting the temporal lobes), inability to recognize familiar faces (prosopagnosia), visual hallucinations, and a behavioral syndrome. Deep perforating branch occlusion: thalamic perforating arteries produce rubrothalamic syndrome: cerebellar ataxia, intention tremor, choreiform involuntary movements on the affected side, and sensory disturbances on the contralateral side; thalamic geniculate artery produces thalamic syndrome: deep sensory disturbances on the contralateral side, spontaneous pain, hyperesthesia, mild hemiparesis, ataxia, and choreoathetosis, etc.