A 62-year-old man with a history of poorly controlled hypertension and diabetes presents with sudden onset of weakness. His blood pressure is 200/115 mm Hg, and his pulse is 80 per minute. An X-ray film of the chest demonstrates cardiomegaly and pulmonary edema. A CT scan of the brain reveals intra-parenchymal hemorrhage. The patient becomes unresponsive and eventually expires. Which of the following was the most likely site for cerebral hemorrhage in this patient?
Cerebral hemorrhage causes stroke (apoplexy). Cerebral hemorrhages that occur without trauma are referred to as "spontaneous," although most are related to preexisting vascular lesions (Charcot-Bouchard aneurysms) or are the consequence of long-standing hypertension. Hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage occurs at preferential sites, which in order of frequency are the basal ganglia-thalamus (65%), pons (15%), and cerebellum (8%). Necrosis of pyramidal neurons of Sommer's sector in the hippocampus (choice E) occurs as a consequence of global anoxia.Diagnosis: Cerebral hemorrhage
Basal ganglia/thalamic area
Frontal lobe cortex (cortical layers IV through VI)
Medulla
Midbrain
Central Nervous System