TY - JOUR
T1 - Redefining thalamic vascularization vicariously through gerald percheron
T2 - A historical vignette
AU - Agarwal, Nitin
AU - Chaudhari, Amit
AU - Hansberry, David R.
AU - Prestigiacomo, Charles J.
PY - 2014/1
Y1 - 2014/1
N2 - Gerard Percheron, M.D., a practicing neurologist and prolific researcher at the Institute Nationale de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale (INSERM), made significant and valuable contributions to medicine, in particular, to the vascular anatomy of the basal ganglia. His particular interest in the thalamus eventually led to the identification of an anatomic variation in its vascular supply. This newly identified artery was subsequently named the artery of Percheron (AOP). Given the estimated prevalence of the AOP in up to one third of the population and its significant proportion of all thalamic infarcts, it is necessary for physicians to be aware of this anatomic vascular variant and its clinical consequences. Although occlusion of the AOP may present similar to other arterial thalamic occlusions, it can be identified through susceptibility-weighted imaging and ruled out with conventional or magnetic resonance angiography. Occlusion of the AOP typically causes a simultaneous and symmetric infarction. Treatment efficacy is time-dependent and necessitates thrombolytics and anticoagulative medications. Here, we trace a course from the artery's initial description in 1973 to its current implications in cerebrovascular stroke, and offer a synopsis of the proposed treatment.
AB - Gerard Percheron, M.D., a practicing neurologist and prolific researcher at the Institute Nationale de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale (INSERM), made significant and valuable contributions to medicine, in particular, to the vascular anatomy of the basal ganglia. His particular interest in the thalamus eventually led to the identification of an anatomic variation in its vascular supply. This newly identified artery was subsequently named the artery of Percheron (AOP). Given the estimated prevalence of the AOP in up to one third of the population and its significant proportion of all thalamic infarcts, it is necessary for physicians to be aware of this anatomic vascular variant and its clinical consequences. Although occlusion of the AOP may present similar to other arterial thalamic occlusions, it can be identified through susceptibility-weighted imaging and ruled out with conventional or magnetic resonance angiography. Occlusion of the AOP typically causes a simultaneous and symmetric infarction. Treatment efficacy is time-dependent and necessitates thrombolytics and anticoagulative medications. Here, we trace a course from the artery's initial description in 1973 to its current implications in cerebrovascular stroke, and offer a synopsis of the proposed treatment.
KW - Artery of Percheron
KW - Gerard Percheron
KW - History
KW - Thalamic vascularization
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84893642556&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.wneu.2013.01.030
DO - 10.1016/j.wneu.2013.01.030
M3 - Review article
C2 - 23314026
AN - SCOPUS:84893642556
SN - 1878-8750
VL - 81
SP - 198
EP - 201
JO - World neurosurgery
JF - World neurosurgery
IS - 1
ER -