A study of intracranial aneurysms with ultrasoft x-rays

Abstract

✓ Ten saccular aneurysms obtained postmortem from large cerebral arteries were examined with ultrasoft x-rays. At the border toward the aneurysms the elastic lamella generally showed duplication, thickening, and fragmentation, with irregular variations in the absorption of ultrasoft x-rays. Calcification could only be discovered in the intimal collagenous tissue several millimeters from the aneurysm mouth. Eosinophilic substance was found in one case to be markedly radiopaque. The observations support the hypothesis that at the site of a media defect there is a compensatory hypertrophy of the elastic lamella, resulting in degeneration and decay. Fluorescent microscopy of the elastic lamella gave similar results.