VASCULAR ARCHITECTURE OF THE NUCLEUS CAUD ATUS

The aim of this study is to describe the vascular characteristics of t he nucleus caudatus (NC). This study is performed on 30 human brains b y injecting the vascular system with gelatinous Indian ink. Examinatio n of serial slices, 250 microns thickness, made translucent by the Spa lteholz method, enabled us to follow the course and behavior of the ve ssels of the NC. The arteries of the NC belong to the group of the cen tral arteries arising from the anterior and middle cerebral arteries o r from the anterior choroidal arterie. Inside the different parts of t he NC (head, body and tail) the central arteries and their ramificatio ns give rise to a specific vascular network quite similar to this one of the putamen. This network consists of regular, polygonal, rectangul ar or square meshes. Each mesh is composed by the juxtaposition of vas cular units formed by an arterial ring arranged around a principal vei n which is surrounded by a capillary free space. The arterioles of the network of the NC are terminal or side branches of the central arteri es. They are characteristic in their course by forming rope-like struc tures (coils) also described on the ramifications of the putaminal cen tral arteries. Similarities between the vascular networks of the NC an d the putamen are in relation with the histological structure, with th e morphogenetic evolution, with the functional activity. The specifici ty and the clear delimitation of the vascular networks of the NC and o f the putamen are particularly obvious in cerebral vascular diseases l eading to infarcts strictly limited to these two nuclei.