The Superior Cerebellar Artery: Variability and Clinical Significance

The superior cerebellar artery (SCA) arises from the distal part of the basilar artery and passes by the oculomotor, trochlear, and trigeminal nerves. SCA is known to play a crucial role in the development of trigeminal neuralgia. However, due to its anatomical variability, it may also trigger other...

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Published in:Biomedicines 2023-07, Vol.11 (7), p.2009
Main Authors: Malicki, Mikołaj, Szmyd, Bartosz M, Bobeff, Ernest J, Karuga, Filip F, Piotrowski, Michał M, Kościołek, Dawid, Wanibuchi, Sora, Radek, Maciej, Jaskólski, Dariusz J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
anatomical variants
Aneurysms
Carotid artery
Cerebellum
Clinical significance
Diabetes
Diplopia
hemifacial spasm
Ischemia
Nerves
Neuralgia
Neurological disorders
neurovascular compression syndrome
oculomotor compression syndrome
Oculomotor nerve
Paralysis
Patients
Review
superior cerebellar artery
trigeminal neuralgia
Veins & arteries
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Summary:The superior cerebellar artery (SCA) arises from the distal part of the basilar artery and passes by the oculomotor, trochlear, and trigeminal nerves. SCA is known to play a crucial role in the development of trigeminal neuralgia. However, due to its anatomical variability, it may also trigger other neurovascular compression (NVC), including hemifacial spasm, oculomotor nerve palsy, and ocular neuromyotonia. Additionally, it may be associated with ischemic syndromes and aneurysm development, highlighting its clinical significance. The most common anatomical variations of the SCA include duplication, a single vessel origin from the posterior cerebral artery (PCA), and a common trunk with PCA. Rarely observed variants include bifurcation and origin from the internal carotid artery. Certain anatomical variants such as early bifurcation and caudal course of duplicated SCA trunk may increase the risk of NVC. In this narrative review, we aimed to examine the impact of the anatomical variations of SCA on the NVCs based on papers published in Pubmed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases with a snowballing approach. Our review emphasizes the importance of a thorough understanding of the anatomical variability of SCA to optimize the management of patients with NVCs associated with this artery.
ISSN:2227-9059
2227-9059
DOI:10.3390/biomedicines11072009