The lenticulostriate arteries, anterolateral central arteries, or antero-lateral ganglionic branches are a group of small arteries arising from the initial part M1 of the

middle cerebral artery The middle cerebral artery (MCA) is one of the three major paired cerebral artery, cerebral arteries that supply blood to the cerebrum. The MCA arises from the internal carotid artery and continues into the lateral sulcus where it then branches an ...

that supply the

basal ganglia The basal ganglia (BG), or basal nuclei, are a group of subcortical nuclei, of varied origin, in the brains of vertebrates. In humans, and some primates, there are some differences, mainly in the division of the globus pallidus into an extern ...

Structure

The lenticulostriate arteries are also known as the lateral striate arteries that arise from the

. The other striate artery is the medial striate artery known as the

recurrent artery of Heubner The recurrent artery of Heubner, Heubner's artery or distal medial striate artery is an artery in the head. It is named after the German paediatrician Otto Heubner. It is a branch of the anterior cerebral artery. Its vascular territory is the ante ...

that arises from the

anterior cerebral artery The anterior cerebral artery (ACA) is one of a pair of cerebral arteries that supplies oxygenated blood to most midline portions of the frontal lobes and superior medial parietal lobes of the brain. The two anterior cerebral arteries arise from t ...

. The lenticulostriate arteries originate from the initial segment ( M1) of the

(MCA). They are small perforating arteries, which enter the underside of the brain at the

anterior perforated substance The anterior perforated substance is a part of the brain. It is bilateral. It is irregular and quadrilateral. It lies in front of the optic tract and behind the olfactory trigone. Structure The anterior perforated substance is bilateral. It ...

to supply blood to part of the

and posterior limb of the

internal capsule The internal capsule is a white matter structure situated in the inferomedial part of each cerebral hemisphere of the brain. It carries information past the basal ganglia, separating the caudate nucleus and the thalamus from the putamen and the g ...

. The lenticulostriate perforators are end arteries. The name of these arteries is derived from some of the structures they supply, namely the

lentiform nucleus The lentiform nucleus, or lenticular nucleus, comprises the putamen and the globus pallidus within the basal ganglia. With the caudate nucleus, it forms the dorsal striatum. It is a large, lens-shaped mass of gray matter just lateral to the inter ...

and the

striatum The striatum, or corpus striatum (also called the striate nucleus), is a nucleus (a cluster of neurons) in the subcortical basal ganglia of the forebrain. The striatum is a critical component of the motor and reward systems; receives glutamate ...

Clinical significance

Blockage of the lenticulostriate arteries causes

lacunar infarcts Lacunar stroke or lacunar cerebral infarct (LACI) is the most common type of ischemic stroke, resulting from the occlusion of small penetrating arteries that provide blood to the brain's deep structures. Patients who present with symptoms of a lac ...

. These infarcts are most often due to hyaline arteriosclerosis secondary to

hypertension Hypertension (HTN or HT), also known as high blood pressure (HBP), is a long-term medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms. Long-term high bl ...

. This can lead to contralateral

paresis In medicine, paresis () is a condition typified by a weakness of voluntary movement, or by partial loss of voluntary movement or by impaired movement. When used without qualifiers, it usually refers to the limbs, but it can also be used to desc ...

(muscular weakness) and/or sensory loss of the face and body.

References

Le, Tao and Bhushan, Vikas. ''First Aid for the USMLE Step 1 2017 (p.484)''. New York: McGraw-Hill Education, 2017.

External links

* * http://www.dartmouth.edu/~humananatomy/part_8/chapter_43.html Arteries of the head and neck {{circulatory-stub