Neurovascular Geography and Mapping the Consequences of Its Injury

Abstract

As with any organ in the body, the brain depends upon the integrity of its blood supply to maintain normal function. Despite the fact that it constitutes only about 2% of body weight, its metabolic demands consume about 20% of the cardiac output and a comparable proportion of the total amount of oxygen used by the body. To understand the cognitive and behavioral consequences of an interruption of normal blood flow, it is important to first provide a general description of the geography of the cerebral circulatory system. The purpose of this chapter is to provide this overview and then to describe the diagnostic tools that reveal the effects of diseases and conditions that disrupt supply.