Neurology
~7% of blueprintStroke, seizures, headache, neurodegenerative disease.
Disease Profiles
Anatomy
- Region
- Arterial ring at the base of the brain.
- Key Structures
- ACA, MCA, PCA linked by the anterior & posterior communicating arteries; fed by the internal carotids & basilar artery.
- Clinical Correlation
- MCA stroke → contralateral face/arm weakness + aphasia (dominant); ACA → leg > arm; PComm aneurysm → CN III palsy.
High-Yield Pearl
MCA is the most common stroke territory — face & arm are affected more than the leg.
- Region
- White matter of the spinal cord.
- Key Structures
- Dorsal columns (fine touch/proprioception), spinothalamic tract (pain/temperature), lateral corticospinal tract (motor).
- Clinical Correlation
- Cord hemisection (Brown-Séquard) → ipsilateral motor & proprioception loss with contralateral pain/temperature loss.
High-Yield Pearl
Spinothalamic fibers cross within one or two segments of entry, in the anterior white commissure; dorsal columns & corticospinal tracts cross in the medulla.
- Region
- Ventricular system of the brain.
- Key Structures
- Lateral ventricles → foramen of Monro → 3rd ventricle → cerebral aqueduct → 4th ventricle → Luschka/Magendie → subarachnoid space → arachnoid granulations.
- Clinical Correlation
- Flow obstruction → noncommunicating hydrocephalus; impaired reabsorption → communicating hydrocephalus.
High-Yield Pearl
Normal pressure hydrocephalus triad — wet, wobbly, wacky (incontinence, gait apraxia, dementia).
First-line drugs
All pharmacologyLearn it in your courses
Gross Anatomy
Immunology & Genetics
Physiology