Distal lateral striate branches

At a glance

English

Distal lateral striate branches

System

Artery

Region

Head

Side

Paired, left and right

About the distal lateral striate branches

The lateral striate branches, also called lenticulostriate arteries, are thin perforating vessels that leave the upper surface of the first part of the middle cerebral artery as it runs laterally in the stem of the lateral sulcus. They form part of the anterolateral central arteries. The distal lateral striate branches are those arising further out along this first segment, nearer the point where the artery divides.

They climb almost straight up and enter the brain through the lateral part of the anterior perforated substance. Inside, they pass through or beside the lentiform nucleus, curving medially as they rise, and end in the upper part of the internal capsule and the body of the caudate nucleus. They supply the putamen, the outer part of the globus pallidus, the external capsule and the upper parts of the anterior limb and posterior limb of the internal capsule.

These are end arteries with few connections, so a blockage leaves a small deep infarct. Such lacunar strokes in this territory can cause weakness of the opposite face, arm and leg without loss of sensation or speech. Long-standing high blood pressure damages their walls, and they are the classic source of bleeding into the putamen, the commonest site of hypertensive brain haemorrhage. Because they rise from the artery's upper surface, surgeons working on aneurysms of the middle cerebral artery take care to keep them open.

Course and supply

Arises from

Upper surface of the sphenoidal (first, M1) part of the middle cerebral artery, from its outer stretch near the bifurcation.

Ends in

End in the putamen, globus pallidus, internal capsule and body of the caudate nucleus after entering the anterior perforated substance.

Supplies

Supply the lateral lentiform nucleus, the external capsule, the upper internal capsule and the body of the caudate nucleus.