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Anatomy of the Insular Arteries

  • Servet Celik
  • Okan Bilge
  • Canan Yurttaş
  • Mehmet Turgut
Chapter
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Abstract

The human insula is regarded as the hidden fifth lobe, and as a result, macroscopic features including vascularity of the insula are neglected in undergraduate and even in postgraduate medical education. The vasculature of the insula is of interest to many medical professionals interested in neuroanatomy, neuroimaging, neurosurgery, etc. The vascularity of the insula affects its functionality, and its vessels are associated with many diseases, such as strokes, infarcts, arteriovenous malformations, varices and tumours of insula. The middle cerebral artery is the main blood supply of the insula. Cortical branches of the middle cerebral artery lie over the insula and provide short, middle, and long perforating arteries. Insuloopercular and terminal insular arteries have been discussed and depicted. Arteries of the insula are presented herein.

Keywords

Insular vessels Insular artery Middle cerebral artery Insuloopercular artery Perforating arteries 

Abbreviations

A

 Insular apex

ACA

 Anterior cerebral artery

Ag

 Accessory gyrus

AIP

 Anterior insular point

ALg

 Anterior long gyrus

ALs

 Anterior limiting sulcus

Ang

 Branch to angular gyrus

APr

 Anterior parietal artery

aPx

 Pial arterial plexus

ASg

 Anterior short gyrus

ATm

 Anterior temporal branch

Both

 Transitional or mixed vascular area

CN

 Caudate nucleus

Cn

 Central sulcal artery

Cn1

 Central sulcal artery 1

Cn2

 Central sulcal artery 2

Cns

 Central insular sulcus

Early IT

 Early branch of middle cerebral artery suppling inferior trunk area

Early ST

 Early branch of middle cerebral artery suppling superior trunk area

IC

Insular cortex

ICA

Internal cerebral artery

ILs

Inferior limiting sulcus

IO

Insuloopercular artery

IT

Inferior trunk of middle cerebral artery

L

Limen of the insula

LN

Lentiform nucleus

LOF

Lateral orbitofrontal artery

LPr

Long perforating artery

LV

Lateral ventricle

M1

First (sphenoidal) segment of middle cerebral artery

M2

Insular segment of middle cerebral artery

M3

Opercular segment of middle cerebral artery

M4

Cortical segment of middle cerebral artery

MCA

Middle cerebral artery

MPr

Middle perforating artery

MSg

Middle short gyrus

MTm

Middle temporal branch

Pal

Pallidum

PCA

Posterior cerebral artery

PIP

Posterior insular point

PLg

Posterior long gyrus

PLIC

Posterior limb of the internal capsule

PlTm

Polar temporal artery

PPr

Posterior parietal artery

Pr

Perforating insular artery

PreCn

Precentral sulcal artery

PreCnI

Precentral insular vein

PreCns

Precentral insular sulcus

PreF

Prefrontal artery

PSg

Posterior short gyrus

PstCns

Postcentral insular sulcus

PTm

Posterior temporal branch

Put

Putamen

SLs

Superior limiting sulcus

SPr

Short perforating artery

Ss

Short insular sulcus

ST

Superior trunk of middle cerebral artery

Stm

Stem artery

Tg

Transverse gyrus

TmO

Temporooccipital branch

TrI

Terminal insular artery

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Copyright information

© Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018

Authors and Affiliations

  • Servet Celik
    • 1
  • Okan Bilge
    • 1
  • Canan Yurttaş
    • 1
  • Mehmet Turgut
    • 2
  1. 1.Faculty of Medicine, Department of AnatomyEge UniversityIzmirTurkey
  2. 2.Faculty of Medicine, Department of NeurosurgeryAdana Menderes UniversityAydınTurkey

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