Posterior cerebral artery
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The posterior cerebral arteries (PCA) are the terminal branches of the basilar artery and supply the occipital lobes and posteromedial temporal lobes.
Summary
- origin: terminal branches of the basilar artery
- course: from basilar towards occiput
- main branches
- supply: occipital lobes and posteromedial temporal lobes
Gross anatomy
The PCA is divided into four segments:
- P1: from it origin at the termination of the basilar artery to posterior communicating artery (PCOM), within interpeduncular cistern
- P2: from the PCOM around the midbrain, divided into P2A (anterior) and P2P (posterior) sub-segments; P2A is within crural cistern which then bridges to the P2P segement in ambient cistern (thus ambient segment)
- P3: quadrigeminal segment (segment within the quadrigeminal cistern)
- P4: cortical segment (e.g. calcarine artery, within the calcarine fissure)
Branches
- posterior communicating artery
- choroidal branches (from P2)
- perforators
- anterior thalamoperforator (from PCOM)
- posterior thalamoperforator (from P1)
- thalamogeniculate perforator (from P2)
- peduncular perforator (from P2)
- circumflex (long and short)
- cortical branches
- temporal branches
- anterior temporal artery
- posterior temporal artery
- lateral occipital artery
- anterior inferior temporal artery
- middle inferior temporal artery
- posterior inferior temporal artery
- medial occipital artery
- calcarine artery
- parieto-occipital artery
- splenial artery
- temporal branches
Supply
The posterior cerebral artery curls around the cerebral peduncle and passes above the tentorium to supply the posteromedial surface of the temporal lobe and the occipital lobe. The visual cortex responsible for the contralateral field of vision lies in its territory. The macular part of the visual cortex often receives a dual blood supply from the PCA and the MCA, which explains the "macular sparing" phenomenon in some patients following a PCA infarct.
Variant anatomy
- PCA fenestration: rare
- fetal origin of PCA: unilateral incidence 10%, bilateral incidence 8%
-</ul><h4>Variant anatomy</h4><ul>- +</ul><h5>Supply</h5><p>The posterior cerebral artery curls around the cerebral peduncle and passes above the tentorium to supply the posteromedial surface of the temporal lobe and the occipital lobe. The <a href="/articles/primary-visual-cortex">visual cortex</a> responsible for the contralateral field of vision lies in its territory. The macular part of the visual cortex often receives a dual blood supply from the PCA and the MCA, which explains the "macular sparing" phenomenon in some patients following a PCA infarct.</p><h4>Variant anatomy</h4><ul>
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