Microsurgical anatomy of the supraclinoid portion of the internal carotid artery

Abstract

✓ The microsurgical anatomy of the supraclinoid portion of the internal carotid artery (ICA) was studied in 50 adult cadaver cerebral hemispheres using × 3 to × 40 magnification. The ICA was divided into four parts: the C 1 or cervical portion; the C 2 or petrous portion; the C 3 or cavernous portion; and the C 4 or supraclinoid portion. The C 4 portion was divided into three segments based on the origin of its major branches: the ophthalmic segment extended from the origin of the ophthalmic artery to the origin of the posterior communicating artery (PCoA); the communicating segment extended from the origin of the PCoA to the origin of the anterior choroidal artery (AChA); and the choroidal segment extended from the origin of the AChA to the bifurcation of the carotid artery. Each segment gave off a series of perforating branches with a relatively constant site of termination. The perforating branches arising from the ophthalmic segment passed to the optic nerve and chiasm, infundibulum, and the floor of the third ventricle. The perforating branches arising from the communicating segment passed to the optic tract and the floor of the third ventricle. The perforating branches arising from the choroidal segment passed upward and entered the brain through the anterior perforated substance. The anatomy of the ophthalmic, posterior communicating, anterior choroidal, and superior hypophyseal branches of the C 4 portion was also examined.