PATHOPHYSIOLOGY

Total Anterior Circulation Infarction Left Middle Cerebral Artery

PRECIPITATING FACTORS:
PREDISPOSING FACTORS:
 Diabetes Mellitus
Age: older than 55 dislodged atheromatous plaques in the  smoking 
years aortic arch Hypercholesterolemia
Sex: male
Hypertension
Genetic abnormalities
 Obesity
Family history: heart
Heart disease
disease and cardiogenic emboli travel to the Sedentary lifestyle
complications of cerebrovascular circulation
atherosclerosis
Race: African
Americans
Occlusion of the left MCA

Inadequate supply of blood to the left

side of the brain (left frontal lobe)
a

Ischemia

Inadequate oxygen reaching the left

side of brain (left frontal lobe)

Hypoxia

Infarct/necrosis

Damage to the posterior portion Damage to the left parietal lobe

of left frontal lobe (motor areas)

Impaired motor function damage to the sensory damage to the motor

speech area (wernicke’area) speech area (Broca’s area)

inability to move right altered comprehension lack of muscle control

side of the body
(hemiplegia)
 inability to perform Inability to Inability to difficulty in speech
complex movements read count articulation
(apraxia) (alexia) (acalculia) (dysarthria)

Loss of Fluent aphasia Nonfluent aphasia

writing ability (Wernicke’s aphasia) (Broca’s aphasia)
(agraphia)

dislodged atherosclerotic arterial narrowing at

the bifurcation of the common carotid artery

arteriogenic emboli travel to the

cerebrovascular circulation

atherosclerotic stenosis and superimposed

thrombosis in the common carotid artery