The morphologic characteristics of the vascular network of the middle and inferior temporal gyri and middle temporal visual area

: The vascular network of the anterior part of the middle and inferior temporal gyri consists of four vascular layers of which the third and fourth have the densest capillary network of the same density. There are all types of arteries in this cortex form A1 to A6 as well as all types of veins from V1 to V5. Fountain-like arteries usually branch into five to six terminal recurrent branches; we have found that there are about two of them in each serial section. The middle temporal visual area has the same features of the vascular network as the above mentioned gyri with one difference only: there are at least six fountain-like arteries in each serial section. The increased number of these arteries might point to a greater sensitivity of this area to hypoxic conditions. The tangential sections of these areas reveal the existence of vertically-oriented vascular units with a centrally located venous vessel surrounded by arterial rings.