Posterior inferior cerebellar artery
Arteria inferior posterior cerebelli
- Latin synonym: Arteria cerebelli inferior posterior
- Acronym: PICA
Definition
The posterior inferior cerebellar artery (PICA) winds backward around the upper part of the medulla oblongata, passing between the origins of the vagus nerve and the accessory nerve, over the inferior cerebellar peduncle to the undersurface of the cerebellum, where it divides into two branches.
The medial branch continues backward to the notch between the two hemispheres of the cerebellum; while the lateral supplies the under surface of the cerebellum, as far as its lateral border, where it anastomoses with the anterior inferior cerebellar and the superior cerebellar branches of the basilar artery.
Branches from this artery supply the choroid plexus of the fourth ventricle.
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