Posterior temporal branch

At a glance

English

Posterior temporal branch

Latin (TA2)

Ramus temporalis posterior arteriae cerebri mediae

System

Artery

Region

Head

Side

Paired, left and right

About the posterior temporal branch

The posterior temporal branch is one of the temporal branches of the middle cerebral artery. It leaves the lateral sulcus towards its posterior part, usually from the lower division of the artery, and runs backwards and downwards across the lateral surface of the temporal lobe. In front of it lie the anterior and middle temporal branches, and behind it the temporo-occipital branch.

It supplies the posterior parts of the superior and middle temporal gyri and, in part, the inferior temporal gyrus where it reaches the lateral surface. Its territory includes the region around the posterior end of the superior temporal gyrus and the cortex bordering the lower parietal lobe. At its lower edge it meets branches of the posterior cerebral artery, which supply the inferior surface of the temporal lobe.

In the dominant hemisphere, usually the left, the posterior part of the superior temporal gyrus contains the cortex essential for understanding spoken language, often called Wernicke's area. Blockage of the posterior temporal branch in that hemisphere can therefore cause a fluent aphasia, in which speech flows easily but is full of wrong words and the patient has difficulty understanding what is said. Weakness is usually absent or slight, since the motor areas lie in other territories. In the non-dominant hemisphere a similar infarct may affect the appreciation of tone and emotion in speech.

Course and supply

Arises from

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

Ends in

Ends in branches over the posterior lateral temporal lobe, meeting branches of the posterior cerebral artery below.

Supplies

Supplies the posterior parts of the superior and middle temporal gyri.