Size and flow matter in the posterior circulation
- Correspondence to Dr Louis R Caplan, Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, 330 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA; lcaplan{at}bidmc.harvard.edu
- Received 15 April 2009
- Accepted 17 April 2009
The physics of blood flow within the cervicocranial arteries is complex. Arterial plaques, eddies and vortices, and sheer wall stress as well as the shape, size and tortuosity of arteries effects currents of flow. When foreign materials are placed in neck vessels in experimental animals, the particles often wind up at the very same destinations, indicating a predilection for a customary blood flow route. …
