The recurrent artery of Heubner, Heubner's artery or distal medial striate artery is an

artery An artery (plural arteries) () is a blood vessel in humans and most animals that takes blood away from the heart to one or more parts of the body (tissues, lungs, brain etc.). Most arteries carry oxygenated blood; the two exceptions are the pul ...

in the

head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals may ...

. It is named after the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

paediatrician

Otto Heubner Johann Otto Leonhard Heubner (January 21, 1843 – October 17, 1926) was a German internist and pediatrician who was a native of Mühltroff. He studied medicine at the University of Leipzig, and in 1867 became an assistant to Carl Reinhold Aug ...

. It is a branch of 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 ...

. Its vascular territory is the anteromedial section of the

caudate nucleus The caudate nucleus is one of the structures that make up the corpus striatum, which is a component of the basal ganglia in the human brain. While the caudate nucleus has long been associated with motor processes due to its role in Parkinson's di ...

and the anterioinferior section of the internal capsule, as well as parts of the putamen and

septal nuclei The septal area (medial olfactory area), consisting of the lateral septum and medial septum, is an area in the lower, posterior part of the medial surface of the frontal lobe, and refers to the nearby septum pellucidum. The septal nuclei are loca ...

Structure

The recurrent artery of Heubner is a branch of the

. It has a

mean There are several kinds of mean in mathematics, especially in statistics. Each mean serves to summarize a given group of data, often to better understand the overall value (magnitude and sign) of a given data set. For a data set, the ''arithme ...

diameter of 0.8 mm, and a mean length of 2.4 mm. It is also known together with the

lenticulostriate arteries 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 that supply the basal ganglia. Structure The lenticul ...

as a

striate artery 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 that supply the basal ganglia. Structure The lenticul ...

. The lenticulostriate arteries arise from the middle cerebral artery.

Variation

The recurrent artery of Heubner usually arises from the A1-A2 junction (between 44% and 62% of the time), but may arise from the proximal A2 segment (between 23% and 43%), or more rarely from the A1 segment (maybe up to 14% of the time). The recurrent artery of Heubner has a very variable diameter and length. It varies in width from 0.2 mm to 1.3 mm. It varies in length between 0.9 mm and 3.8 mm.

Function

The recurrent artery of Heubner supplies the anteromedial section of the

and the anterioinferior section of the internal capsule, as well as parts of the putamen and

Clinical significance

The recurrent artery of Heubner may become obstructed. This may cause infarction in those subcortical areas and thus

hemiparesis Hemiparesis, or unilateral paresis, is weakness of one entire side of the body (''wikt:hemi-#Prefix, hemi-'' means "half"). Hemiplegia is, in its most severe form, complete paralysis of half of the body. Hemiparesis and hemiplegia can be caused ...

. More proximal portions of the artery may cause spastic paraparesis and sensory loss contralateral to the lesioned side. Urinary incontinence and

gait apraxia Bruns apraxia, or frontal ataxia, is a gait apraxia found in patients with bilateral frontal lobe disorders. It is characterised by an inability to initiate the process of walking, despite the power and coordination of the legs being normal when te ...

may also occur. Occlusive damage to Heubner's artery may also present with contralateral grip reflex issues, and symptoms of

frontal lobe disorder Frontal lobe disorder, also frontal lobe syndrome, is an impairment of the frontal lobe that occurs due to disease or frontal lobe injury. The frontal lobe of the brain plays a key role in executive functions such as motivation, planning, social ...

. Contralateral gaze preference with or without transcortical motor aphasia may present in instances where the ''left'' hemisphere is affected in this type of occlusion.

History

The recurrent artery of Heubner is named after the

paediatrician

References

Arteries of the head and neck Cerebrum {{Arteries of head and neck