Pericallosal artery
Arteria pericallosa
The continuation of the anterior cerebral artery that runs backwards over the corpus callosum on the medial surface of the hemisphere.
At a glance
- English
- Pericallosal artery
- Latin (TA2)
- Arteria pericallosa
- System
- Artery
- Region
- Head
- Side
- Paired, left and right
About the pericallosal artery
The pericallosal artery is the distal part of the anterior cerebral artery, curving round the genu of the corpus callosum and following its upper surface backwards. In the segment system used by radiologists and surgeons it corresponds to the A3 segment onwards. It is either one of the two main terminal branches of the anterior cerebral artery, the other being the callosomarginal artery, or, when no callosomarginal artery is present, the artery's sole continuation.
It runs in the callosal sulcus, the groove between the corpus callosum below and the cingulate gyrus above, just under the free edge of the falx cerebri. The arteries of the two sides lie very close together in the midline, and their branches can cross over.
Along its course it gives short callosal branches to the corpus callosum and branches to the cingulate gyrus. Towards the back it gives off the superior and inferior internal parietal arteries and the precuneal artery, which supply the medial surface of the parietal lobe, including the precuneus, and run up over the upper border of the hemisphere onto a strip of its outer surface. Near the splenium its end twigs meet the splenial branch of the posterior cerebral artery, forming a connection between the anterior and posterior circulations.
Because the anterior cerebral territory includes the medial part of the motor and sensory cortex for the leg, blockage here can weaken the opposite leg. Aneurysms at the point where the pericallosal and callosomarginal arteries divide, near the genu, are a recognised type of distal anterior cerebral aneurysm. The artery is also a key landmark on angiograms and is shifted across the midline by a mass beneath the falx.
Course and supply
- Arises from
- The anterior cerebral artery near the genu of the corpus callosum, usually where the callosomarginal artery leaves it.
- Ends in
- Ends near the splenium, giving the internal parietal and precuneal arteries and anastomosing with the posterior cerebral artery.
- Supplies
- Supplies the corpus callosum, cingulate gyrus and the medial parietal cortex, including the precuneus.
Anthromica
See the pericallosal artery where it really sits, with every layer of the body around it.
- Every layer, one body. Peel from muscle to bone, nerve, vessel and organ, and turn it any way.
- English and Latin. Every structure named the way your exam names it.
- Quiz until it sticks. Short drills on the structures you keep missing.
Free to start. No card.
