BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Extracranial atherosclerosis, proximal to the carotid bifurcation and V3 segment of the vertebral artery, is considered to be an infrequent condition with a benign prognosis. However, its prevalence may be underestimated due to lack of data. We aimed to determine the prevalence of proximal extracranial plaques and stenosis in the common carotid artery, innominate and subc...

Vertebral artery hypoplasia is not currently considered an independent risk factor for stroke. Emerging evidence suggest that vertebral artery hypoplasia may contribute to posterior circulation ischemic events, especially when other risk factors coexist. In the present literature review, we present published data to discuss the relationship between a hypoplastic vertebral artery and posterior c...

Obstruction of the vertebral arteries can lead to sudden death, extensive spinal cord destruction, insufficiency of the brain stem, impaired cerebellar function, damage to the occipital cortex, and may well be responsible for certain forms of cerebral palsy. We have recently treated a case of post-traumatic vertebral artery insufficiency by debridement of an osteophyte obstructing the intraspin...

Neoplastic cervical spine lesions are seen infrequently by the spinal surgeon. The surgical management of these tumors, particularly with associated neurovascular compromise, is challenging in terms of achieving proper resection and spinal stabilization and ensuring no subsequent recurrence or failure of fixation. In this report we highlight some of the problems encountered in the surgical mana...

PURPOSE To establish normal cerebral blood flow volume by measuring flow volume of the extracranial carotid and vertebral arteries using Doppler ultrasonography in healthy adults. MATERIALS AND METHODS A prospective study was performed with a group of 96 healthy adults aged 20 to 80 years (48 women, 48 men; mean age of all patients, 49.8 +/- 17.1). The common, external, and internal carotid a...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Incapacitating vertebrobasilar insufficiency is generally associated with bilateral vertebral artery disease, whereas unilateral vertebral artery stenosis usually is clinically silent. Regional brain perfusion has not been part of the routine evaluation of patients with vertebrobasilar insufficiency. This report describes two patients who had isolated unilateral vertebral...

Severe internal carotid artery (ICA) stenosis is a common cause of cerebrovascular accident (CVA) in middle-aged patients. Contralateral carotid occlusion (CCO) in patients with severe ICA stenosis is associated with high risk of CVA. Carotid endarterectomy (CEA) is associated with more complications in patients with CCO than those without CCO. In this study, we present the case of a 61-year-ol...

Endogenous vasopressin may interact with central autonomic nervous system factors in the regulation of cardiovascular function. In 25 morphine/chloralose-anesthetized dogs, we studied the magnitude of the pressor response produced by an infusion of angiotensin II (AII) into the vertebral arteries (VA), before and after intracisternal (n = 10), intravertebral (n = 9), or intravenous (n = 6) admi...

Clinical and radiologic findings in 13 patients (11 women, 2 men) with extracranial vertebral artery dissection are reported. Dissection was spontaneous in 8 patients, occurred after neck manipulation in 2 and after a potential minor injury to the neck in 3. Six had a history of common migraine, 4 were using oral contraceptives at the time of dissection, and 3 had fibromuscular dysplasia. Disse...

This study aimed to describe the brain base arteries of Myrmecophaga tridactyla using ten cadavers adults from this species, including five male and female specimens. The arterial vascular bed was perfused via thoracic aorta with a dyed natural latex solution, animals were fixed preserved 10% formaldehyde buffered solution. encephala removed, their vessels dissected. Basilar artery formation oc...