ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The degree of contribution from the vertebro-basilar and carotid systems to the origin of the posterior cerebral artery (PCA) is of clinico-anatomical importance. Three configurations in the bifurcation of the posterior communicating artery (PcomA) have been described, foetal, transitional and adult. OBJECTIVE: To examine the extent of contribution from the vertebro-basilar and carotid systems to the origin of the PCA in adult autopsy brains in subjects who had died of causes unrelated to the brain. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The external diameter of the PcomA, pre communicating part (P1) and the post communicating part (P2) of PCA in 225 normal Sri Lankan adult cadaver brains was measured using a calibrated grid. Results: The adult configuration was present in 220 (93.3%); (bilaterally in 200 (88.8%), and unilaterally in 20 (8.8%) ten on each side. Foetal configuration was seen in 17 (4.4%); bilaterally in 3 (1.3%), and unilaterally in 14 (6%) 8 on the left and 6 on the right. Transitional configuration was seen in 8 (2.2%); bilaterally in 2 (0.9%), and unilaterally in 6 (2.5%) 2 on the left and 4 on the right. CONCLUSION: This study reveals that the internal carotid artery (ICA) provided the major supply to the PCA in 4.4% of foetal and 2.2% of transitional configurations. The adult configuration was present in 220 (93.3%), the highest recorded in the literature. This finding may be of relevance to vertebrobasilar ischaemia and infarcts in the territory of the PCA.
ABSTRACT
Objective To assess the frequency of diseases categorized under "other neurological diseases" in the Indoor Morbidity and Mortality Registry (IMMR) of the Medical Record Unit of infants and children admitted to the Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children (LRH) and coded and indexed according to the 10th revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD 10) of the World Health Organization. Design Retrospective data analysis Method Data of in-ward patients, obtained from the medical record section of LRH for a period of two years (2004 and 2005), were analysed Results Two hundred and ninety nine (0.21%) [157 (52.5%) males and 142 (47.5%) females] had been categorized under "other neurological diseases". The four major contributors were hydrocephalus 59 (20%), polyneuropathy & disorders of peripheral nervous system 44 (15%), Guillain Barre' syndrome 39 (13%) and disorders of myoneural junction & muscle 29 (10%). A family history was present in a patient with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and a patient with limb-girdle muscular dystrophy.