L�ngsrupturen an den Wirbelschlagadern

In the preceding publication (see p. 1) the question arose of how to explain the longitudinal tears of the vertebral arteries at the departure of the posterior inferior cerebellar artery, that occur as origin of fatal subarachnoidal hemorrhage subsequent to blunt forces against the head. As the result of calculation of flow dynamics in a right-angled branching a curvature of the main vessel opposite to the flow in the branch develops. If the main vessel is unable to evade, the branch will be impressed into the main vessel in a piston-like manner. An experiment with silicon tubes succeeded to produce longitudinal tears resembling to those described by Krauland. Traumatic increase of pressure and stress of the vessels are considered the most likely cause of longitudinal ruptures of the basal arteries.