[Recurrent branch of the anterior cerebral artery: a neuroanatomic study of the extracerebral segment (author's transl)].

The neuroanatomic study of the recurrent branch (a. of Heubner) of the anterior cerebral artery has been performed in 83 adult brains from northeasterner brazilians. In the consulted literature the recurrent artery is described as a branch of the precommunical segment of the anterior cerebral artery. Nevertheless, in this observation the results with regard to origin of the vessel were the following: 1) the Heubner artery was a branch of the postcommunical segment in 17 cases (20.8%) on the right side and in 21 cases (25.6%) on the opposite side; 2) the artery arose at the correspondent level to the rostral margin of the anterior commune left; 3) in 38 cases (45.3%) on the right side and 36 cases (44.2%) on the opposite side, the artery arose at the level between rostral and caudal borders of the anterior communicant; 4) only in 5 cases (6.1%) and in 6 cases (7.3%) to the right and to the left, respectively, the recurrent artery was a typical branch of the precommunical segment of the anterior cerebral artery. The author has observed two patterns with regard to the extracerebral course of the recurrent artery.