Blood supply of internal capsule

Upper half: supplied by Middle cerebral artery (MCA) through its Lenticulo
striate branches
 Lower half: 1st part by anterior cerebral
Middle part -by posterior communicating branch of
 Posterior cerebral artery
3
rd part – anterior choroidal branch of MCA
(Through their lenticulo striate branches.)
Mnemonic: APC (Antr. Cerebral, Posterior communicating,
Choroidal-antr)
Major source of blood supply to internal capsule is through several small branches
given off -from circle of willis (called perforate branches)
They are named LENTICULO STRIATE ARTERIES
These small arteries are different from large cerebral vessels functionally.
They are end arteries and do not anastomose
They may occlude and cause cerebral infarct or rupture causing cerebral
hemorrhage.
A relatively small lesion may cause major motor/sensory deficit on the opposite
side
This is because the fibers of internal capsule are densely packed
They enter the brain by perforating the gray matter: hence the name perforating
branchesç