Postcentral arterial branch

At a glance

English

Postcentral arterial branch

Latin (TA2)

Arteria sulci postcentralis

System

Artery

Region

Head

Side

Paired, left and right

About the postcentral arterial branch

The postcentral arterial branch, also called the artery of the postcentral sulcus, is one of the cortical branches of the middle cerebral artery. It arises from the vessels in the posterior part of the lateral sulcus, usually from the upper division of the artery, and emerges onto the lateral surface of the hemisphere behind the central sulcus.

It ascends in or alongside the postcentral sulcus, the groove that marks the back of the postcentral gyrus. Along the way it gives branches forward into the postcentral gyrus and backward into the front of the parietal lobe, including the anterior part of the supramarginal gyrus and the superior parietal lobule. Its upper branches approach the top of the hemisphere, where they meet the territory of the anterior cerebral artery. Many accounts treat it as the same vessel as the anterior parietal artery.

The postcentral gyrus is the primary somatosensory cortex, and the part supplied by this artery represents the opposite face, hand and arm. Occlusion of the branch therefore causes loss of touch, position sense and fine discrimination on the opposite side, more marked in the face and arm than the leg. The neighbouring artery of the central sulcus supplies the motor cortex in front, so a blockage involving both vessels adds weakness to the sensory loss. Because the vessel runs in a named sulcus, surgeons and radiologists use it as a landmark to identify the postcentral gyrus on angiograms and during operations near the sensory and motor strips.

Course and supply

Arises from

The middle cerebral artery, usually its upper division, in the posterior part of the lateral sulcus.

Ends in

Ends in branches along the postcentral sulcus towards the top of the hemisphere.

Supplies

Supplies the postcentral gyrus and the anterior parietal cortex beside it.