Abstract
The innervation of the perforating and cortical branches of cerebral arteries of humans was examined by electron microscopy, formaldehyde histofluorescence and cholinesterase technique. When viewed by transmission electron microscopy, the perivascular automonic nerve fiber consisted of myelinated superficial nerve plexus and non-myelinated deep nerve plexus. Within the non-myelinated axon of deep nerve plexus, granular and non-granular synaptic vesicles were often seen. Histochemically, the perforating arteries were better supplied by adrenergic and cholinergic nerves than the cortical branches of cerebral arteries. Although the degree of innervation in the large cerebral arteries was always higher than that in the small arteries, there was a certain degree of regional variability.
Our results may represent the importance of dense innervation of perforating arteries concerning with the morphogenesis of “exhaustive degeneration” of medial smooth muscle cells of perforating arteries observed in hypertensive patients.
