Anatomy study note · Head and neck

Middle cerebral artery

The larger terminal branch of the internal carotid artery. It runs laterally in the lateral cerebral sulcus and supplies most of the lateral surface of the hemisphere.

Key points

• Larger ICA terminal branch; in the lateral sulcus.
• Most of the lateral surface: motor/sensory cortex except the leg.
• Lenticulostriate branches → internal capsule ("artery of cerebral haemorrhage").
• Vessels: mesodermal, from angioblastic tissue.
• Cerebral atherosclerosis → stroke.
• Artery: intima / media (smooth muscle) / adventitia.

The full note in the atlas also covers

Features · Histology · Development · Clinical notes

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Written from

• Snell’s Clinical Anatomy by Regions, 10th ed., ch. 12, PDF pp. 1559–1561, 1641–1642
• Inderbir Singh’s Human Embryology, ch. 15, PDF p. 236
• BRS Cell Biology & Histology, 7th ed., ch. 11, PDF pp. 197–199, 199

More from the head and neck

• Muscles of facial expression
• Musculus uvulae
• Mylohyoid
• Nasal bone
• Occipital bone
• Occipital lobe
• Occipitofrontalis
• Oculomotor nerve
• Olfactory nerve
• Omohyoid
• Ophthalmic artery
• Ophthalmic nerve

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