BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Spontaneous dissection of the intracranial carotid artery or its main branches is an unusual condition. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 72-year-old hypertensive woman after an intense nuchal rigidity showed a subarachnoid hemorrhage and an interhemispheric hematoma by computed tomography. The neuropathological study revealed a transmural dissection of the pericallosal artery. CONCLUSIONS: The authors suggest that the dissection origin is an atheromatous plaque that bleeds, producing a dissection plane from the lumen to the adventitial artery.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Spontaneous dissection of the intracranial carotid artery or its main branches is an unusual condition. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 72-year-old hypertensivewoman after an intense nuchal rigidity showed a subarachnoid hemorrhage and an interhemispheric hematoma by computed tomography. The neuropathological study revealed a transmural dissection of the pericallosal artery. CONCLUSIONS: The authors suggest that the dissection origin is an atheromatous plaque that bleeds, producing a dissection plane from the lumen to the adventitial artery.