Morphology of external genicuate body blood supply affected by brain athrosclerosis and its clinical significance

Objective: In order to provide morphological evidences for visual field defect caused by external geniculate body ischemia, the origins, numbers, distributions and pathological changes about external geniculate body arteries were studied. Methods: The origins, numbers, distributions and pathological changes of external geniculate body arteries in 90 sides of adult brain specimens were observed under micro-stereoscope and operation microscope, among which the nourishing arteries of external geniculate body in 60 sides aged from 50 to 70 were observed pathohistologically. Results: The blood supply of external geniculate body comes mainly from posterolateral choroidal artery, thalamogeniculates artery and anterior choroidal artery. 80.0% of these 60 sides arteries were of multi-origin, the rest were mono-origin and 88.3% of them have atherosclerosis and the external geniculate body arteries of 6 sides were blocked completely and 18 sides partly. Conclusions: Excluding other diseases, the eyesight decline, visual field defect in patients over 50 years old were caused possibly by atherosclerosis of the arteries at the base of the brain.