[Morphological aspects of occlusions of the basilar artery]

On the basis of 8 personal clinicopathological cases, the authors give a general review of the morphological appearances of occlusions of the basilar artery (265 cases in the literature, including 164 with study of the associated cerebral lesions). The arterial lesions (nature, site and extent) are first considered, emphasising the extreme prevalence of atheromatous occlusion (74.58 p. 100). The consequences as far as the cerebral parenchyma are then studied: involvement of the pons, in isolation or associated with appearances of ischaemic necrosis in other regions (midbrain, cerebellum, diencephalon, cerebral hemispheres), is most important since it is found in 88.3 p. 100 of cases. Whilst correlations between vascular lesions and the consequences on the cerebral parenchyma are easy to establish, the same does not always apply to correlations between angiographic findings and anatomical examinations.