Occlusion de l’artère de Percheron : difficultés du diagnostic clinique et place de l’IRM. À propos de six cas

Abstract

Blood supply to the human thalami is complex and multiple variants exist. The artery of Percheron is one of those variants and is characterized by a solitary arterial trunk that branches from one of the proximal segments of either posterior cerebral artery and supplies blood to the paramedian thalami. Its occlusion results in bilateral paramedian thalamic infarction sometimes extending to the midbrain. We report six cases of bithalamic infarction secondary to occlusion of the artery of Percheron. We will illustrate the complex clinical symptomatology and underscore the role of imaging, especially MRI, for diagnosis.