Acute ultrastructural changes in the middle cerebral artery due to the injury and ischemia of surgical clamping.

Ultrastructural changes in the zone of clamping of the middle cerebral artery of the squirrel monkey are described after application of a surgical clip. The experimental model utilized has been widely applied to the study of cerebral ischemia and possibly has relevance to clamps applied to the cerebral vessels during neurosurgical treatment of patients with cerebrovascular disorders. The earliest changes within the arterial wall were found in the smooth muscle (media) and accompanying fasciculi of nerves. Changes within the nerve bundles were sufficiently advances following 4 hours of vascular clipping to suggest temporary or permanent impairment of neurogenic innervation of the cerebral vessels distal to the trunk of the vessel clipped.