Foville's syndrome is caused by the blockage of the perforating branches of the

basilar artery The basilar artery (U.K.: ; U.S.: ) is one of the arteries that supplies the brain with oxygen-rich blood. The two vertebral arteries and the basilar artery are known as the vertebral basilar system, which supplies blood to the posterior part o ...

in the region of the brainstem known as the

pons The pons (from Latin , "bridge") is part of the brainstem that in humans and other mammals, lies inferior to the midbrain, superior to the medulla oblongata and anterior to the cerebellum. The pons is also called the pons Varolii ("bridge of ...

. It is most frequently caused by lesions such as vascular disease and tumors involving the dorsal pons. Structures affected by the lesion are the dorsal pons (pontine tegmentum) which comprises paramedian pontine reticular formation (PPRF), nuclei of cranial nerves VI and VII,

corticospinal tract The corticospinal tract is a white matter motor pathway starting at the cerebral cortex that terminates on lower motor neurons and interneurons in the spinal cord, controlling movements of the limbs and trunk. There are more than one million neu ...

medial lemniscus The medial lemniscus, also known as Reil's band or Reil's ribbon (for German anatomist Johann Christian Reil), is a large ascending bundle of heavily myelinated axons that decussate in the brainstem The brainstem (or brain stem) is the pos ...

, and the

medial longitudinal fasciculus The medial longitudinal fasciculus (MLF) is a prominent bundle of nerve fibres which pass within the ventral/anterior portion of periaqueductal gray of the mesencephalon (midbrain). It contains the interstitial nucleus of Cajal, responsible ...

. There is involvement of the fifth to eighth cranial nerves, central sympathetic fibres (Horner syndrome) and horizontal gaze palsy.

Presentation

This produces ipsilateral horizontal gaze palsy and facial nerve palsy and contralateral

hemiparesis Hemiparesis, also called unilateral paresis, is the weakness of one entire side of the body (''wikt:hemi-#Prefix, hemi-'' means "half"). Hemiplegia, in its most severe form, is the complete paralysis of one entire side of the body. Either hemipar ...

, hemisensory loss, and

internuclear ophthalmoplegia Internuclear ophthalmoplegia (INO) is a disorder of conjugate lateral gaze in which the affected eye shows impairment of adduction. When an attempt is made to gaze contralaterally (relative to the affected eye), the affected eye adducts minimall ...

Diagnosis

Treatment

History

Foville's syndrome was initially described by Achille-Louis Foville, a French physician, in 1859.

References

External links

Stroke Syndromes affecting the nervous system {{nervoussystem-disease-stub