Vascular Brain Stem Diseases

This book provides a systematic and comprehensive review of brain-stem vascular diseases. It is divided into four sections—structural and functional basis, epidemiology and clinical aspects, diagnostic tools, and therapy. The section on structural and functional basis reviews the anatomic organization of the brain stem and describes the vascular supply of the brain stem and arterial variations, based on the extensive experience of the author with autopsy material. In addition, an excellent review of the mechanisms of posterior circulation ischemia is provided. The final chapter in the section discusses the vestibulo-ocular system and provides detailed schematic diagrams that aid in understanding this complex topic. The next section focuses on epidemiologic and clinical aspects of vascular disease. The first chapter reviews epidemiologic aspects and is complete with illustrative tables and angiograms. The following two chapters complement each other with a discussion of signs and symptoms of vertebrobasilar insufficiency and brain-stem stroke