Partial anterior circulation infarct (PACI) is a type of
cerebral infarction
Cerebral infarction, also known as an ischemic stroke, is the pathologic process that results in an area of necrotic tissue in the brain (cerebral infarct). In mid to high income countries, a stroke is the main reason for disability among peo ...
affecting part of the
anterior
Standard anatomical terms of location are used to describe unambiguously the anatomy of humans and other animals. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position pro ...
circulation supplying one side of the
brain
The brain is an organ (biology), organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head (cephalization), usually near organs for ...
.
Partial anterior circulation stroke syndrome (PACS) refers to the symptoms of a patient who clinically appears to have had a partial anterior circulation infarct, but who has not yet had any diagnostic imaging (e.g.
CT Scan
A computed tomography scan (CT scan), formerly called computed axial tomography scan (CAT scan), is a medical imaging technique used to obtain detailed internal images of the body. The personnel that perform CT scans are called radiographers or ...
) to confirm the diagnosis.
It is diagnosed by any one of the following
* 2 out of 3 features of
** Higher dysfunction
***
Dysphasia
Aphasia, also known as dysphasia, is an impairment in a person's ability to comprehend or formulate language because of dysfunction in specific brain regions. The major causes are stroke and head trauma; prevalence is hard to determine, but aph ...
***
Visuospatial disturbances
**
Homonymous hemianopia
In linguistics, homonyms are words which are either; '' homographs''—words that mean different things, but have the same spelling (regardless of pronunciation), or '' homophones''—words that mean different things, but have the same pronunciat ...
** Motor and Sensory Defects (>2/3 of face, arm, leg)
* Higher dysfunction alone
* Partial Motor or Sensory Defect
If all of the above symptoms are present, a
Total Anterior Circulation Infarct
Total anterior circulation infarct (TACI) is a type of cerebral infarction affecting the entire anterior circulation supplying one side of the brain. The anterior circulation is the part that is supplied by the internal carotid artery, as oppose ...
is more likely.
For more information, see
stroke
Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...
.
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Partial Anterior Circulation Infarct
Stroke