Cerebral infarction

Watershed infarction or watershed infarction (WI) refers to a cerebral infarction that occurs at the junction of two major arterial distribution regions of the brain, and most often occurs in the larger arterial blood supply junction of the brain. It is different from cerebral thrombosis and cerebral embolism in terms of etiology, pathogenesis, pathology and clinical characteristics. Marginal cerebral infarction is mainly located between the large cortical arterial blood supply area and the basal nucleus small arterial blood supply area. It can occur on one side of the cerebral hemisphere, or on both sides of the cerebral hemisphere, but it is more common on one side clinically, and the incidence rate is about 10% of ischemic cerebrovascular disease. The most common cause is a decrease in blood pressure caused by various reasons, or an insufficient supply of blood from an arterial stem, which makes the blood supply near the proximal end of the artery acceptable, while the blood supply in the peripheral marginal region of the distal end decreases, resulting in ischemic cerebral infarction. The concept of cerebral watershed infarction has only been accepted by clinicians in recent years, and has become a consensus type of cerebral infarction, which is more common in elderly people over 60 years of age. In recent years, with the application of brain CT scans and brain MRI examinations in the clinic, the location and scope of lesions can be clearly displayed, and the etiology, pathology, and clinical characteristics of the lesions have been further recognized, and they have been increasingly valued by clinical research.

The material in this site is intended to be of general informational use and is not intended to constitute medical advice, probable diagnosis, or recommended treatments.