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The circle of Willis (also called Willis' circle, loop of Willis, cerebral arterial circle, and Willis polygon) is a circulatory anastomosis that supplies blood to the brain and surrounding structures in reptiles, birds and mammals, including humans. [1] It is named after Thomas Willis (1621–1675), an English physician. [2]
The two anterior cerebral arteries arise from the internal carotid artery and are part of the circle of Willis. The left and right anterior cerebral arteries are connected by the anterior communicating artery. Anterior cerebral artery syndrome refers to symptoms that follow a stroke occurring in the area normally supplied by one of the arteries.
Willis was a pioneer in research into the anatomy of the brain, nervous system and muscles. His most notable discovery was the "Circle of Willis", a circle of arteries on the base of the brain. Willis's anatomy of the brain and nerves, as described in his Cerebri anatome of 1664, is minute and elaborate.
There are many examples of normal arterio-arterial anastomoses in the body. Clinically important examples include: Circle of Willis (in the brain) Coronary: anterior interventricular artery and posterior interventricular artery of the heart; Scapular anastomosis (for the subclavian vessels)
Anterior cerebral artery syndrome is a condition whereby the blood supply from the anterior cerebral artery (ACA) is restricted, leading to a reduction of the function of the portions of the brain supplied by that vessel: the medial aspects of the frontal and parietal lobes, basal ganglia, anterior fornix and anterior corpus callosum.
In case of narrowing of other arteries of the circle of Willis or the arteries supplying the circle, the anterior communicating artery can provide a way to supply blood to the opposite (affected) side of the circle. This can often preserve the cerebral blood supply well enough to avoid the symptoms of ischemia. [7]
Each basal cerebral artery of the circle of Willis gives origin to two different systems of secondary vessels. The shorter of these two is called the ganglionic system, and the vessels belonging to it supply the thalami and corpora striata; the longer is the cortical system, and its vessels ramify in the pia mater and supply the cortex and ...
Collateral circulation is the alternate circulation around a blocked artery or vein via another path, such as nearby minor vessels. [1] It may occur via preexisting vascular redundancy (analogous to engineered redundancy), as in the circle of Willis in the brain, or it may occur via new branches formed between adjacent blood vessels (neovascularization), as in the eye after a retinal embolism ...