scholarly journals Fatal Basilar Thrombosis Possibly Related to Minor Cervical Trauma: A Case Report

2010 ◽  
Vol 2010 ◽  
pp. 1-4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elmaz Shaqiri ◽  
Gentian Vyshka ◽  
Admir Sinamati ◽  
Besim Ymaj ◽  
Zija Ismaili
Keyword(s):  
Basilar Artery ◽  
Thrombotic Event ◽  
Causative Factor ◽  
Neck Trauma ◽  
Cervical Trauma ◽  
Complete Occlusion ◽  
Slowing Down ◽  
Basilar Thrombosis ◽  
Minor Injuries ◽  
The Brain

Background. Basilar thrombosis is a potentially fatal event, whose traumatic etiology has been repeatedly stated.Methods. We performed the autopsy and the microscopic examination of the brain stem structures from an individual, whose sudden death raised logical suspicions regarding the causative factor.Results. The brain was swollen and clearly hyperemic; a massive basilar thrombus with complete occlusion of the median segment of the basilar artery was macroscopically seen. The brainstem showed an infarcted zone in the pons, with secondary hemorrhagic changes, mainly in the form of multiple petechial hemorrhages. Pontine arteries showed extensive alterations, mainly in the form of severed endothelium, which suggested a thrombotic-traumatic mechanism as the main etiological factor.Conclusions. Minor injuries, such as slight whiplashes, abrupt neck movements, neck trauma related to the slowing down of the vehicles, and critical neck positioning, can all of them explain a thrombotic event in the basilar artery, leading to a fatal occurrence. Other risk factors may obviously concur, but their importance seems unclear.

Macroscopic Anatomy and Brain Vascularization in the Greater Rhea (Rhea americana americana)

2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Herson Da Silva Costa ◽  
Hélio Norberto De Araújo Júnior ◽  
Ferdinando Vinícius Fernandes Bezerra ◽  
Carlos Eduardo Vale Rebouças ◽  
Danilo José Ayres De Menezes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Basilar Artery ◽  
Carotid Arteries ◽  
Vascular System ◽  
Cerebral Arteries ◽  
Cervical Region ◽  
Type I ◽  
Macroscopic Anatomy ◽  
Rhea Americana ◽  
Vascular Type ◽  
The Brain

 Background: The Rhea americana americana is a wild bird belonging to the group of Ratites, and is important from the scientific point of view given their adaptability to captivity. Considering that information about its morphology is important for the viability of domesticating the species, the aim of this study was to macroscopically identify the brain regions, as well as the cerebral arteries and the cerebral arterial circuit in order to establish the cerebral vascular pattern and systematization.Materials, Methods & Results: Twenty one brains from young and adult Greater Rheas of both sexes were used from animals that had died due to natural causes and were then kept in a freezer. The specimens were thawed and incised in the cervical region to allow exposure of the left common carotid artery, which was cannulated. The vascular system was rinsed with 0.9% saline solution, then perfused with latex Neoprene 650 stained with red pigment. The animals were subsequently fixed in 3.7% aqueous formaldehyde solution for 72 h, and then they were dissected by removing the bones from the skull cap. The brains were analyzed, and the structures were identified, photographed, schematized and denominated. Morphometric measurements were performed on the basilar and cerebellar ventral caudal arteries, recording the values of length and width in millimeters with the aid of a digital caliper. The brain was divided into: telencephalon, diencephalon, brainstem and cerebellum; while externally, the observed structures are: olfactory bulbs, optical lobes, optic nerves, optic chiasm, pituitary and pineal glands. Vascularization was performed by the following arteries: ventral spinal artery, basilar artery, ventricular cerebellar arteries, medium ventricular cerebellar arteries, caudal branches of the carotid arteries of the brain, ventral mesencephalic artery, cerebral caudal arteries, rostral branches of the carotid arteries of the brain, middle cerebral arteries, cerebroethmoidal arteries, rostral intercerebral anastomosis, rostral cerebral arteries, ethmoidal arteries, internal ophthalmic arteries, inter-hemispheric artery, pituitary arteries, dorsal mesencephalic tectal arteries, dorsal cerebellar arteries, occipital, pineal and dorsal hemispherical branches. The cerebral arterial circuit was both caudally and rostrally closed in 100.0% of the samples, being composed of the arteries: basilar artery, caudal branches of the carotid brain, rostral branches of the brain carotid, cerebroethmoidal arteries and rostral intercerebral anastomosis.Discussion: Encephalon classification regarding the presence or absence of gyri is a characteristic associated to evolution­ary aspects among vertebrates, being respectively considered as lisencephalon or girencecephalus when it presents or does not present convolutions. In Greater Rheas, the telencephalon was quite developed, with a relatively rounded shape and the absence of sulci and convolutions in the cortex, which allowed it to be classified as a lisencephalon. Such findings resemble those described for the ostrich and in a comparative study involving kiwis, emus, owls and pigeons, although different sizes and forms of telencephalon development were observed in the latter. Regarding the cerebral arterial circuit, this structure in Rheas was complete and both caudally and rostrally closed in 100.0% of the specimens. Our findings differ from those ob­served for ostriches, in which a rostrally open behavior has been described, while it is caudally closed in 20.0% of cases and opened in 80.0%. Regarding the vascular type of the brain, in the Rhea it was observed that there was only contribution of the carotid system, similar to that found for birds such as ostriches and turkeys which confer a type I encephalic vascularization.Keywords: arteries, brain, arterial circuit, morphometry, ratites.

scholarly journals Role of Nitric Oxide in Regulation of Brain Stem Circulation during Hypotension

1997 ◽  
Vol 17 (10) ◽  
pp. 1089-1096 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazunori Toyoda ◽  
Kenichiro Fujii ◽  
Setsuro Ibayashi ◽  
Tetsuhiko Nagao ◽  
Takanari Kitazono ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nitric Oxide ◽  
Brain Stem ◽  
Topical Application ◽  
Basilar Artery ◽  
Group Versus ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Cranial Window ◽  
Severe Hypotension ◽  
The Brain

We tested the hypothesis that nitric oxide (NO) plays a role in CBF autoregulation in the brain stem during hypotension. In anesthetized rats, local CBF to the brain stem was determined with laser-Doppler flowmetry, and diameters of the basilar artery and its branches were measured through an open cranial window during stepwise hemorrhagic hypotension. During topical application of 10−5 mol/L and 10−4 mol/L Nω-nitro-L-arginine (L-NNA), a nonselective inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase (NOS), CBF started to decrease at higher steps of mean arterial blood pressure in proportion to the concentration of L-NNA in stepwise hypotension (45 to 60 mm Hg in the 10−5 mol/L and 60 to 75 mm Hg in the 10−4 mol/L L-NNA group versus 30 to 45 mm Hg in the control group). Dilator response of the basilar artery to severe hypotension was significantly attenuated by topical application of L-NNA (maximum dilatation at 30 mm Hg: 16 ± 8% in the 10−5 mol/L and 12 ± 5% in the 10−4 mol/L L-NNA group versus 34 ± 4% in the control group), but that of the branches was similar between the control and L-NNA groups. Topical application of 10−5 mol/L 7-nitro indazole, a selective inhibitor of neuronal NOS, did not affect changes in CBF or vessel diameter through the entire pressure range. Thus, endothelial but not neuronal NO seems to take part in the regulation of CBF to the the brain stem during hypotension around the lower limits of CBF autoregulation. The role of NO in mediating dilatation in response to hypotension appears to be greater in large arteries than in small ones.

scholarly journals Systematization of the Brain Base Arteries in Nutria (Myocastor coypus)

2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 9
Author(s):  
Rodrigo Cavalcanti De Azambuja ◽  
Laura Ver Goltz ◽  
Rui Campos
Keyword(s):  
Carotid Artery ◽  
Cerebral Artery ◽  
Basilar Artery ◽  
Internal Carotid ◽  
Terminal Branch ◽  
Medial Branch ◽  
Myocastor Coypus ◽  
Collateral Branch ◽  
Cerebellar Artery ◽  
The Brain

Background: The nutria (Myocastor coypus) is a medium-size, semi-aquatic rodent, valued in skin and meat industry. The brain circulation has been well studied in rodents but not in nutria. To understand and compare the phylogenetic development of the arteries of the base of the brain in rodents, this paper aims to describe and systematize these arteries, establishing a standard model and its main variations in nutria.Materials, Methods & Results: Following approval by the Ethics Committee of Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, thirty nutrias from a commercial establishment authorized by Brazilian Institute of Environment and Natural Resources (IBAMA) were studied. For euthanasia, was applied heparin (10000 U.I for animal), intraperitoneally, and after thirty minutes the animals ware sedated with acepromazine (0.5 mg/kg) and meperidine (20 mg/kg), intramuscularly. After sedation, they were euthanized with thiopental sodium (120 mg/kg) and lidocaine (10 mg/mL), intraperitoneally. The heart was accessed, the cardiac apex was sectioned, the aorta was cannulated via the left ventricle and clamped close to the diaphragm, and the arterial system was washed with saline solution and filled with latex. The animals were submerged in water for latex polymerization, the trunk was sectioned, the skin removed and a bony window was opened in the skull vault. The pieces were fixed in formaldehyde. The brains were removed, and schematic drawings of the arteries from the base of the brain were made for elaboration of the results. The nutria’s brain was vascularized by the vertebro-basilar system. The terminal branches of the right and left vertebral artery were anastomosed on the ventral surface of the medulla oblongata, forming the basilar artery, and caudally the ventral spinal artery. The basilar artery formed collateral branches, the caudal and middle cerebellar and trigeminal arteries, and at the height of the rostral pons groove, divided into its two terminal branches, the rostral cerebellar and cerebral caudal arteries. The terminal branches of the basilar artery projected rostrally, forming the hypophyseal and rostral choroid arteries. The basilar artery passed the optic tract and bifurcated in the middle cerebral artery, its last collateral branch, and in the rostral cerebral artery, its terminal branch. The rostral cerebral artery formed the medial branch, closing the cerebral arterial circle caudally in 40% of the cases.Discussion: In rodents, variability of the cerebral arterial circle was observed due to the degree of atrophy of the internal carotid artery. The basilar artery was a rectilinear vessel of great caliber in all described rodents, and in rodents with a vertebro-basilar system, it was divided into its terminal branches after crossing the pons, forming the rostral cerebellar, hypophyseal, rostral choroid, caudal, middle and rostral cerebral arteries. The caudal cerebellar artery had variation of origin and sometimes duplication. The median cerebellar artery, a collateral branch of the caudal cerebellar artery, was a branch of the basilar artery in capybara. The caudal cerebral artery had variations between rodents. In capybara, chinchilla and nutria the middle cerebral artery was the collateral branch of the terminal branches of the basilar artery, and distributed on the convex surface of the cerebral hemisphere. The rostral cerebral artery, a branch of the terminal branch of the basilar artery, was a branch of the internal carotid artery in other rodents, forming the medial branch, which was anastomosed with that of the opposite antimer, when present, forming the rostral communicating artery. In nutria, the cerebral arterial circle was closed caudally in all cases, as in other rodents, however, it was opened rostrally in 60% of cases, compared to 70% in chinchilla and 10% in capybara.

scholarly journals Ecstasy from a physiological point of view

1982 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 74-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaj Björkqvist
Keyword(s):  
Religious Tradition ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Human Mind ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
The Body ◽  
Biological Study ◽  
Physiological Basis ◽  
Slowing Down ◽  
Psychosomatic Diseases ◽  
The Brain

The biological study of man is one of today's most rapidly advancing sciences. There is no reason for not utilizing these methodologies of research and the knowledge already gained when studying ecstasy and other similar religious phenomena. Drugs have been used in all parts of the world as an ecstasy technique. Since mental states and physiological correlates always accompany each other, it is obvious that the human mind can be affected by external means, for instance by drugs. But the opposite is also true; mental changes affect the body, as they do in the case of psychosomatic diseases. Ecstasy is often described as an extremely joyful experience; this pleasure must necessarily also have a physiological basis. It is of course too early to say anything for certain, but the discovery of pleasure centres in the brain might offer an explanation. It is not far-fetched to suggest that when a person experiences euphoric ecstasy, it might, in some way or other, be connected with a cerebral pleasure center. Can it be, for example, that religious ecstasy is attained only by some mechanism triggering off changes in the balance of the transmitter substances? Or is it reached only via a change in the hormonal balance, or only by a slowing down of the brain waves, or is a pleasure centre activated? When a person is using an ecstasy technique, he usually does so within a religious tradition. When he reaches an experience, a traditional interpretation of it already exists.

A Three-Component-System Hypothesis of Psychosis

1989 ◽  
Vol 155 (S5) ◽  
pp. 37-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hinderk M. Emrich
Keyword(s):  
Human Brain ◽  
Causative Factor ◽  
Microscopic Level ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Component System ◽  
Pathogenetic Factor ◽  
Pet Scans ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Different Levels

Hypotheses as to the pathogenesis of schizophrenia can be discussed at different levels of a possible manifestation of the causative factor: the macroscopic-morphological, the microscopic-morphological, and the molecular. Some abnormalities have been observed on all of them: e.g. increased ventricular-brain ratios in CT, hypofrontality in SPECT and in glucographic PET-scans, and other macromorphological abnormalities (for reviews cf. Bogerts 1984; Mundt, 1986; Bogerts et al, 1987), gliosis on a microscopic level (Stevens, 1982), and an increased dopamine-binding in in vivo receptor studies (PET as well as in post-mortem studies; Cazzullo, 1988). However, the diversity and variability of these findings point to the view that rather than there being a single distinct pathogenetic factor responsible for the pathogenesis of schizophrenic psychoses, a constitutional disposition exists, which can be described as a functional dysequilibrium within the human brain. From this point of view, schizophrenia would not appear as an inherited disorder of metabolism, but as a weakness of a neurobiological ‘system’, i.e. as an interactional disorder of a complex of networks, in which the interaction between different substructures is labile in such a way that under special conditions (e.g. ‘stress’), a decompensation (functional breakdown) results. In this sense, ‘vulnerability’ to schizophrenia may be interpreted as a consequence of a constitutional deficiency of the brain which results in an inability to stabilise, under specially challenging conditions, the interaction between different substructures of the human brain. Before this ‘functional dysequilibrium-hypothesis’ (which is a special form of a constitutional structural deficiency-hypothesis) is discussed, and before the question is raised as to which are the relevant dysequilibrated components, some indication will be given as to why such an hypothesis appears plausible.

Depletion of microglia mitigates cerebrovascular dysfunction in diet-induced obesity mice

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qing Shen ◽  
Guo Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Basilar Artery ◽  
Vascular Dysfunction ◽  
Underlying Mechanism ◽  
Diet Induced Obesity ◽  
Cerebrovascular Function ◽  
Cerebrovascular Dysfunction ◽  
Normal Body Weight ◽  
Oxide Synthase ◽  
Endothelial Nitric Oxide ◽  
The Brain

Obesity is frequently associated with cerebrovascular dysfunction, however, the underlying mechanism remains less well understood. In this study, by using pharmacological approaches, we show that neuroinflammation involving microglia plays an important role in obesity-related cerebrovascular dysfunction. PLX3397 treatment, which leads to depletion of microglia, reduced the wall thickness and collagen deposition in the basilar artery of diet-induced obesity (DIO) mice. Besides, the phosphorylation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) at Ser1177 was enhanced, suggesting improved endothelial function of the basilar artery. The wire myography data show that acetylcholine-elicited relaxation of basilar artery isolated from DIO mice was improved after the treatment with PLX3397. Moreover, our data demonstrate that brain administration of IL-18 impaired cerebrovascular function in mice with normal body weight. Together, these data suggest that neuroinflammation involving microglia is important in obesity-related vascular dysfunction in the brain.

scholarly journals The arteries of the brain base in the degu (Octodon degus Molina 1782)

2014 ◽  
Vol 59 (No. 7) ◽  
pp. 343-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Brudnicki ◽  
B. Skoczylas ◽  
R. Jablonski ◽  
W. Nowicki ◽  
A. Brudnicki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Carotid Artery ◽  
Internal Carotid Artery ◽  
Basilar Artery ◽  
Internal Carotid ◽  
Cerebral Arteries ◽  
Left Vertebral Artery ◽  
Brain Arteries ◽  
Middle Cerebral Arteries ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Synthetic Latex

The brain arteries derived from 50 adult degu individuals of both sexes were injected with synthetic latex introduced with a syringe into the left ventricle of the heart under constant pressure. After fixation in 5% formalin and brain preparation, it was found that the sources of the brain’s supply of blood are vertebral arteries and the basilar artery formed as a result of their anastomosis. The basilar artery gave rise to caudal cerebellar arteries and then divided into two branches which formed the arterial circle of the brain. The internal carotid arteries in degus, except for one case, were heavily reduced and did not play an important role in the blood supply to the brain. The arterial circle of the brain in 48% of the cases was open from the rostral side. Variation was identified in the anatomy and the pattern of the arteries of the base of the brain in the degu which involved an asymmetry of the descent of caudal cerebellar arteries (6.0%), rostral cerebellar arteries (8%) as well as middle cerebral arteries (12%). In 6% of the individuals double middle cerebral arteries were found. In one out of 50 cases there was observed a reduction in the left vertebral artery and the appearance of the internal carotid artery on the same side. In that case the left part of the arterial circle of the brain was supplied with blood by an internal carotid artery, which was present only in that animal.

Radiation-Induced Schwannomas

Neurosurgery ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 929-932 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abraham B. Rubinstein ◽  
Eli Reichenthal ◽  
Haim Borohov
Keyword(s):  
Head And Neck ◽  
Clinical Course ◽  
Causative Factor ◽  
Cervical Cord ◽  
Radiation Induced ◽  
High Cervical ◽  
Therapeutic Irradiation ◽  
The Brain

ABSTRACT The histopathology and clinical course of three patients with schwannomas of the brain and high cervical cord after therapeutic irradiation for intracranial malignancy and for ringworm of the scalp are described. Earlier reports in the literature indicated that radiation of the scalp may induce tumors in the head and neck. It is therefore suggested that therapeutic irradiation in these instances was a causative factor in the genesis of these tumors.

The Site of Cardiovascular Action of Angiotensin II in the Brain

1970 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 327-336 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. D. Joy ◽  
R. D. Lowe
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Vertebral Artery ◽  
Basilar Artery ◽  
Cardiovascular Response ◽  
Cervical Cord ◽  
Central Effects ◽  
Small Arteries ◽  
Site Of Action ◽  
Cervical Segment ◽  
The Brain

1. The site of action of vertebral artery infusions of angiotensin was studied in the chloralose-anaesthetized greyhound. 2. The cardiovascular response to vertebral artery infusion of angiotensin (0·25–2·0 ng kg−1 min−1) was not reduced by clamping the basilar artery between the pons and the pyramidal decussation. There was no response to infusion of angiotensin through a catheter inserted in a rostral direction into the basilar artery above the clamp. The site of action must therefore lie caudal to the pons. 3. Transection of the spinal cord at the first cervical segment did not abolish the response to vertebral artery infusions, which was still mediated by the vagus nerve and abolished by subsequent vagotomy. The site of action must therefore lie rostral to the cervical cord. 4. Local infusions of angiotensin into the small arteries supplying the medulla produced a response similar to that obtained with vertebral artery infusion of angiotensin. 5. These results indicate that the site responsible for these central effects of angiotensin lies in the medulla.

scholarly journals Spontaneous Basilar Artery Dissection: A Case Report and Literature Review

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (03) ◽  
pp. 235-238
Author(s):  
Marx Araújo ◽  
Benjamim Vale ◽  
Lívio Macêdo ◽  
João Vale ◽  
Paulo Gonçalves Júnior
Keyword(s):  
Basilar Artery ◽  
Rare Condition ◽  
Interventional Neuroradiology ◽  
Dissecting Aneurysm ◽  
Severe Headache ◽  
Artery Dissection ◽  
Resonance Imaging ◽  
Diagnostic Challenge ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Brain

AbstractSpontaneous basilar artery dissection is a rare condition and a diagnostic challenge with a high potential for morbidity and mortality if untreated. It has an estimated incidence of 1 to 1.5 cases per 100,000 people. Few cases have been described in the literature up to the present day. The clinical outcomes, prognosis and treatment remain uncertain. The authors report the rare case of a 55-year-old female patient who presented to the Interventional Neuroradiology service at Hospital São Marcos, Teresina, in the state of Piauí, Brazil, with a history of severe headache located in the occipital region and in the nape with no improvement using common analgesics. A magnetic resonance imaging of the brain showed a saccular dilatation in the basilar artery, and a digital cerebral angiography showed a basilar artery dissection associated with a dissecting aneurysm.

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