Arterial vascularization of primary motor cortex (precentral gyrus).
BACKGROUND
The precentral gyrus (PG) is the primary motor area and is one of the most eloquent brain regions of neurosurgical interest. Although the arterial supply to the PG is generally known, contributions from different arterial branches such as the anterior cerebral artery (ACA), posterior cerebral artery (PCA), and middle cerebral artery (MCA) have not been comprehensively studied. The aim of the present study was to provide detailed information about the arteries of the PG.


METHODS
Twenty adult human brains (40 hemispheres) were obtained, and ACA, MCA, and PCA were separately cannulated and injected with latex. The PG was identified.


RESULTS
The ACA supplied the medial one third and the MCA supplied the lateral two thirds of the PG. The PCA did not reach the PG in any of the hemispheres. In 16 hemispheres (40%), the callosomarginal artery and, in 13 hemispheres (32.5%), the pericallosal artery were dominant for the medial one third of the PG. In 11 hemispheres (27.5%), equal dominance was observed. MCA branches at the lateral tip of the PG were classified into precentral, central, and postcentral groups. In 29 hemispheres (72.5%), the central group, and in 4 hemispheres (10%), the precentral group were dominant for the lateral two thirds of the PG. In 7 hemispheres (17.5%), the precentral and central groups were equally dominant. No dominance was identified for the postcentral group.


CONCLUSIONS
In each hemisphere, the PG was supplied by different vascularization patterns of ACA and MCA. The present study is the first to describe and discuss these details. Therefore, awareness of this pattern will provide a great contribution to surgical interventions.
Ugur
Hasan Caglar
HC
Department of Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medicine, Ankara University, Sihhiye, Ankara 06100, Turkey. hasanugur2001@hotmail.com
Kahilogullari
Gokmen
G
Coscarella
Ernesto
E
Unlu
Agahan
A
Tekdemir
Ibrahim
I
Morcos
Jacques J
JJ
Elhan
Alaittin
A
Baskaya
Mustafa K
MK
D000328:Adult; D002536:Cerebral Arteries / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D003337:Corpus Callosum / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D006801:Humans; D009044:Motor Cortex / Q000098:blood supply*; D012016:Reference Values; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000033:anatomy & histology