CT of ischemic infarctions in the territory of the anterior choroidal artery: a review of 28 cases.

The purpose of the present study was to examine the incidence, causal factors, and anatomic localizations of infarction in the territory of the anterior choroidal artery. We studied 28 patients who had CT evidence of infarction in this territory. The affected structures taken into consideration were the posterior limb of the internal capsule, the retrolenticular portion of the internal capsule, the internal portion of the globus pallidus, and the lateral thalamus. Three conclusions are drawn: that ischemic infarcts in the territory of the anterior choroidal artery are rare, representing 2.9% of all cerebral ischemic lesions in our material; that the incidence of a possible embolic origin is significant; and that the posterior two-thirds of the posterior limb of the internal capsule and the retrolenticular segment are the more frequently affected structures, and conversely, that the medial pallidus and the thalamus are less often involved.