Experimental Cerebral Infarction. I. Selective Segmental Occlusion of Intracranial Arteries in the Dog

1. Cylinders of silicone rubber can be molded to any desired diameter and cut to length, yielding a highly pigmented, radio-opaque, elastic bolus suitable for intravascular injection and embolization. 2. Emboli of this type can be localized by x-ray in vivo and at post mortem for clinicopathological correlation studies. 3. Segments of specific vessels of known diameter can be selectively occluded with a high degree of predictability. 4. The caliber of the proximal segment of the middle cerebral artery is remarkably constant in dogs. The extracranial arteries, however, vary proportionately to the body weight of the animal. 5. Proximal segmental occlusion of the middle cerebral artery results in occlusion of the origins of the lenticulostriate vessels. This produces a deep ischemic infarction of basal ganglia and internal capsule. The cerebral cortex is spared due to the integrity of meningocerebral anastomotic network.