Anatomy of the vessels supplying the brain | Stroke symptoms and therapy – Apoplexy treatment

Anatomy of the vessels supplying the brain

The brain is supplied by so-called extracranial vessels, which divide and are called intracranial vessels when they have passed the base of the skull in their course. Extracranial means located outside of the skull and these vessels include the brain-supplying branches that branch off from the main artery (= aorta): These arteries that supply the head are arranged in pairs, i.e. there is a left and a right artery each. An artery is a blood vessel that leads away from the heart.

The vascular supply of the brain from the aorta follows the following course:

  • The subclavian artery originates from the aorta, from which in turn the carotid artery branches off on both sides. The arteria carotis communis is divided into the arteria carotis externa, which supplies the external head, and the arteria carotis interna, which enters the skull and supplies the brain with blood.
  • The arteria carotis interna and the arteria basilaris are the two main blood vessels supplying the brain with blood.
  • The arteria basilaris originates from the arteria vertebralis, which rises along the spine to the head.
  • Within the brain, the supplying vessels branch out in the so-called Circulus Wilisi, a vascular circuit from which the three cerebral arteries Arteria cerebri anterior (front), media (middle) and posterior (back) emerge on each side. The cerebral vascular circulation ensures that the blood supply is maintained, since one half of the brain can also be supplied by the vessels on the opposite side; this is called a collateral circulation.