Syndrome of the Anterior Spinal Artery of the Medulla Oblongata

In previous communications on the syndromes of the cerebellar arteries 1 it was shown that, in contrast to cerebral vascular insults, occlusion of the cerebellar vessels is rare. Closure of the upper part of the anterior spinal artery supplying the medulla oblongata is even less common. Involvement of this vessel was found in only two instances in a series of about four hundred cases of cerebrovascular disease which came to autopsy. In contrast to the frequent anomalies of the posterior inferior cerebellar arteries, anomalies of the upper portion of the anterior spinal and of the vertebral arteries are less commonly observed. The variability of the symptoms occurring with occlusion of the vertebral artery depends on whether the posterior inferior cerebellar artery arises from the basilar or from the vertebral artery. When this cerebellar vessel has origin from the vertebral artery, it is difficult to state whether the symptoms are due