Illustrated Encyclopedia of Human Anatomic Variation: Opus II: Cardiovascular System: Arteries: Head, Neck, and Thorax

Anterior Inferior Cerebellar and Posterior Inferior Cerebellar Arteries

Ronald A. Bergman, PhD
Adel K. Afifi, MD, MS
Ryosuke Miyauchi, MD
Peer Review Status: Internally Peer Reviewed

Occasionally, one of the anterior inferior cerebellar arteries arises from the posterior cerebellar artery.

The posterior inferior cerebellar artery may provide the posterior spinal artery.

The posterior inferior cerebellar artery may arise from the internal carotid artery and the embryonic explanation postulated is the persistence of a primitive communicating vessel (presegmental artery) between the anterior and posterior circulation.

The posterior inferior cerebellar artery may arise from the posterior meningeal artery.

In one study, the incidence of cerebellar arteries originating directly from the internal carotid artery was undertaken. In 5,500 angiographic studies that were reviewed, eleven cerebellar arteries arising directly from the internal carotid were found. In addition, nine embryonic cerebral arteries were also found. The authors remind us that there are four embryonic cerebral arteries that directly connect the carotid and basilar arteries: the trigeminal, the otic, the hypoglossal, and the proatlantal. The one that persists most frequently is the primitive trigeminal artery with an incidence of 0.2% in cerebral angiograms. The eleven cerebellar arteries originating from the internal carotid artery were considered to be persistent primitive trigeminal artery variants.

The most frequent origin of the posterior inferior cerebellar artery is from the intracranial segment of the vertebral artery. According to Ahuja, et al. this occurs in 61% of cases. This origin of the posteror inferior cerebellar artery is not considered rare.

This artery arises from the upper third of the Basilar artey in 2% of cases, from the middle third in 46%, and from the lower third in 52% of cases (Brunner, 1978). Brunner also found the vessel to be duplicated in 11. 1%.

Sunderland (1948) reported that the anterior inferior cebellar artery ran basal to the abducent nerve on the right side in 84% and on the left side in 73%, Stopford (1915) found this arrangement on the right side in 86% and on the left side in 81%. In three cases Sunderland found that the anterior inferior cerebellar artery ran through the abducent nerve on the left side. In 16 of 260 of Sunderland's (1948) cases, the abducent nerve was deeply indented by the artery in the basal part of its course without adverse effect.

Trigeminal, Intersegmental Cervicalis, Intersegmental Proatlantica, Otica

Image 232

References

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