Which artery supplies most of the lateral surfaces of the cerebral hemispheres?

• A. Anterior Cerebral Artery
• B. Posterior Cerebral Artery
• C. Middle Cerebral Artery
• D. Angiography

Answer: (C)

The middle cerebral artery is the main supplier of the lateral surfaces of the cerebral hemispheres. It runs in the lateral fissure and fans out to perfuse the lateral frontal, parietal, and temporal lobes, covering areas responsible for movement and sensation of the face and arm, as well as language regions in the dominant hemisphere. Because it covers the majority of the lateral cortex, it explains why MCA lesions produce strong deficits in those regions. By contrast, the anterior cerebral artery mainly vascularizes the medial aspects of the hemispheres and the leg areas, the posterior cerebral artery supplies the occipital and inferior temporal regions, and angiography is a technique for imaging blood vessels, not a vessel itself.