Cerebral circulation
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Cerebral circulation refers to the blood vessels, arteries and veins, carrying blood to and away from the brain, respectively.
There are four cerebral arteries. The two largest are the two internal carotid arteries, left and right, branches of the common carotid arteries in the neck which enter the skull, as opposed to the external carotid branches which supply the facial tissues. The two smaller branches are the vertebral arteries, branches from the subclavian arteries which primarily supply the shoulders, lateral chest and arms.
Within the cerebral vault, which houses the brain, the two vertebral arteries fuse into the basilar artery, which is located underneath, and primarily supplies, the brainstem.
Both internal carotid arteries, within and along the floor of the cerebral vault, are interconnected via the anterior communicating artery. Additionally, both internal carotid arteries are interconnected with the basilar artery via bilateral posterior communicating arteries.
The Circle of Willis, long considered to be an important anatomic vascular formation, provides backup circulation to the brain. In case one of the supply arteries is occluded, the Circle of Willis provides interconnections between the internal carotid arteries and basilar artery along the floor of the cerebral vault.
The cerebral veins join to form a central sagittal vein, which flows under the top middle portion of the cerebral vault, posteriorly and inferiorly, and divides to form the two jugular veins. In the neck, the jugular veins parallel the upward course of the carotid arteries.
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