Surgical Anatomy of Supratentorial Midline Lesions

The pericallosal artery was found to give rise to four types of branches that supply the corpus callosum: 1) the callosal artery, 2) the
cingulocallosal artery, 3) the long callosal artery, and 4) the recurrent cingulocallosal artery. The callosal arteries, thin branches arising from the
pericallosal artery, directly supplied the inclusium griseum and the superficial surface of the corpus callosum in the midline. They were present
in 50% of the hemispheres and did not branch into the callosal sulcus. Their numbers varied between 0 and 3 (average, 0.7) per hemisphere, and
their diameters ranged between 0.15 and 0.3 mm (average, 0.2 mm)(Figs. 5A and 11 and Table 2).
TABLE 2. Characteristics of Branches from the Pericallosal Artery That Supply the Corpus Callosum
The cingulocallosal artery played the most important role in the blood supply of the corpus callosum. It arose from the inferolateral aspect
of the pericallosal artery and ran laterally into the callosal sulcus, where it divided into three arterial subgroups, one of which supplied the
corpus callosum. The second, arranged in a brush-like formation, supplied the cingulate gyrus; the third followed the depths of the callosal
sulcus and coursed laterally to supply the radiation of the corpus callosum. The cingulocallosal arteries anastomosed with each other and with
branches arising from the subcallosal, median callosal, and long callosal arteries to form the pericallosal pial plexus. This plexus was most
developed in the region of the splenium, where it received a further contribution from the posterior pericallosal artery, a feature that was
observed in all hemispheres. The cingulocallosal arteries ranged in number from 3 to 23 per hemisphere(average, 9). Their diameters ranged
between 0.15 and 0.6 mm (average, 0.25 mm) (Figs. 5B, 6, and 11 and Table 2).
FIGURE 6. Branches from the pericallosal artery to the corpus callosum (2), the radiation of the corpus callosum (4), and the cingulate
gyrus(1) in coronal view. The cingulocallosal artery( thin arrow) arises from the pericallosal artery and courses within the callosal sulcus where
it gives branches to the corpus callosum (inferiorly), the radiation of corpus callosum (laterally), and the cingulate gyrus (superiorly). The long
callosal artery (thick arrow) arises from the pericallosal artery, courses parallel to it in the callosal sulcus, and has callosal and cingulocallosal
branches.3, fornix.
The long callosal artery, another branch arising from the pericallosal artery, coursed parallel with it in the callosal sulcus and had multiple
branches that contributed to the pericallosal pial plexus. It was present in 55% of the hemispheres studied. The number ranged from 0 to 3 per
hemisphere(average, 0.62), and the diameters ranged between 0.2 and 0.9 mm (average, 0.45 mm). The artery terminated in the body of the
corpus callosum (24%) or in the medial longitudinal striae at the splenium (16%). The remainder either anastomosed with the posterior
pericallosal artery of the same hemisphere(48%) or crossed the midline and anastomosed with the posterior pericallosal artery of the opposite
hemisphere (12%), both within the callosal sulcus in the splenial region (Figs. 5C, 6, and 11 and Table 2).
The recurrent cingulocallosal artery, a thin branch, arose from major cortical branches of the pericallosal artery: the superior internal
parietal artery (40%), the paracentral artery (20%), the callosomarginal artery (16%), the anterior internal frontal artery (10%), the inferior
internal frontal artery (10%), or the frontopolar artery (4%). It coursed on the medial surface of the cingulate gyrus toward the callosal sulcus,
was present in 45% of the hemispheres, and contributed to the pericallosal pial plexus. The recurrent cingulocallosal arteries ranged in number