DIGITATE INTRAVASCULAR APPENDAGES AND ANEURYSM OF THE VEIN OF GALEN

Peculiar intravascular appendages were found in a case of aneurysm of the vein of Galen. Such appendages consisted of finger-like polypoid g rowths which protruded within the lumen of ectatic cerebral veins and arteries. They were solid, relatively large, and non-branching. Histol ogically, their structure was comparable to that of a vessel wall, but was concentrically laminated around the longitudinal axis. Some appen dages were associated with thrombi. It is suggested that appendages of this kind probably represent secondary vascular malformations, that t hey are likely to develop in reaction to abnormal hemodynamic strains upon the vessel walls, and that they might be thrombogenic and, theref ore, potentially beneficial for patients with arteriovenous shunts.