Arteries Case

In a normal intracranial arteries there are three layers; intima, media and adventitia(11). The intima is the inner most layer of the artery made up of endothelium and sub-endothelial connective tissue which provides strength to the vessel. Media, the middle layer of the artery is made up of closely packed smooth muscle cells and elastic tissue. Whilst the outer layer, adventitia is considered a very thin layer of connect tissue and collagen fibers. Once damages and weakening the endothelium cells in the internal elastic layer of the artery. This changes results in a loss of structural integrity of the luminal wall and will increase the likelihood of hemodynamic stress causing the endothelial cells to dysfunction resulting in saccular dilation. This increase in hemodynamic stress in the vascular walls will also have a direct affect on the extracellular matrix organisation. Blood flow will become increasingly turbulent in the aneurysm sac eventually causing necrosis to the endothelium wall expanding the aneurysm. If there is only a small aneurysm and it does not rupture the body will promote remodeling through a thrombus formation, scarring of the wall, collagen formation, platelet aggregation, invasion of fibroblast and deposition of fibrous material. With continual exposure to hemodynamic i

ircle of Willis. The Circle of Wills is made up of four major vessels that provide perfusion to the brain (Appendix A). These vessels include two vertebral vessels and two carotid vessels. Berry aneurysm can be solitary or multiple and range from a few millimeters to several centimeters (1).

Berry aneurysms were once thought to be a congenital condition presented at birth. However, subsequent studies have proven this theory as incorrect i