[Hypertensive angiopathy of the brain]

Cerebral vessels were studied by light microscopy in 20 autopsies after hemorrhagic stroke from arterial hypertension. Primary (acute), secondary (reparative) changes, as well as changes reflecting compensatory-adaptive processes, were found in the intracerebral and superficial arteries of the brain. The whole complex of these vascular changes was defined as hypertonic angiopathy. The usage of such terms as "angiopathy" and "combined angiopathy" were discussed. Criteria of morphologic diagnosis of angiopathies were proposed.