title: [The anterior inferior cerebellar artery. Anatomy, clinical aspects and microneurosurgery].
abstract: The anterior inferior cerebellar artery (Aica) is the principal vessel of the cerebellopontine angle. It consistently originates from the caudal third of the basilar artery, proceeds to the internal auditory meatus, coming in close proximity to the facial and vestibulocochlear nerves, and then arches along the neighboring subsurface of the cerebellum. Four sections of the artery are distinguished on the basis of the topography and branching pattern. The Aica supplies the pontomedullar junction laterally, the inner ear through the labyrinthine artery and portions of the cerebellar cortex below the horizontal cerebellar fissure. It may contribute to the supply of the petrosal dura, the choroid plexus in the lateral recess of the fourth ventricle and the middle cerebellar peduncle. Its labyrinthine and subarcuate branches firmly anchor the vessel to the petrous bone. This explains why angiograms in cerebellopontine angle processes typically show displacement patterns. Angiographically the Aica is best visualized in the a.p. view. On lateral films useful information is unlikely without subtraction techniques or angiotomography. Symptoms caused by Aica-lesions or occlusions have primarily been explained in terms of reduced blood supply in the brainstem and inner ear, as perfusion in the cerebellar region supplied by the vessel can be adequately maintained by arterio-arterial anastomoses of the other cerebellar arteries. As a rule, the Aica is not prominently involved in the supply of acoustic neurinomas, since these tumors are epiarachnoidal and, as a result, predominantly supplied by dural vessels. This explains why Aica can be preserved even if a radical approach is used for extirpating acoustic neurinomas.
mesh_terms: D001158:Arteries / Q000601:surgery; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000098:blood supply; D002530:Cerebellopontine Angle / Q000098:blood supply; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000098:blood supply*; D007758:Ear, Inner / Q000098:blood supply; D006801:Humans; D008866:Microsurgery; D009464:Neuroma, Acoustic / Q000098:blood supply / Q000601:surgery
vernacular_title: Die Arteria cerebelli inferior anterior. Anatomie--Klinik--Mikroneurochirurgie.