Variable Anatomy of the Middle Cerebral Artery from Its Origin to the Edge of the Sylvian Fissure: A Direct Fresh Brain Study

Table 1

Main trunk, perforators, and cortical branches of the MCA.

	R	L	Total
MT of the MCA
Origin
Double MCA	2	−	2
Usual origin	48	50	98
Termination pattern
Bifurcation	33	39	72
Trifurcation	11	5	16
Primary trunk	6	6	12
Early bi/trifurcation (based on 72% and 16% bi/trifurcation)
Present	1	2	3
Absent	43	42	85
Perforators of the MCA
Origin
MT only	47	49	96
MT and bifurcation	2	1	3
MT, bifurcation, and postbifurcation	1	−	1
Patterns
As single branches	50	50	100
As a common trunk	−	−	−
Cortical branches
Frontal lobe arteries
Orbitofrontal	50	48	98
Prefrontal	50	49	99
Precentral	49	46	95
Central	49	49	98
Temporal lobe arteries
Temporopolar	43	44	87
Anterior temporal	43	46	89
Middle temporal	11	13	24
Posterior temporal	32	30	62
Temporo-occipital	36	33	69
Parietal lobe arteries
Anterior parietal	45	43	88
Angular	40	43	83
Posterior parietal	31	26	57
Early cortical branches
Early frontal branch only	3	2	5
Early temporal branch only	20	20	40
Both early frontal and temporal branches	4	3	7
Early parietal branch	−	−	−

Data are expressed as a percentage of 100 hemispheres. Abbreviations: L, left; MCA, middle cerebral artery; MT, main trunk; R, right.