The superior cerebellar artery (SCA) arises near the termination of the basilar artery.
It passes lateralward, immediately below the oculomotor nerve, which separates it from the posterior cerebral artery, winds around the cerebral peduncle, close to the trochlear nerve, and, arriving at the upper surface of the cerebellum, divides into branches which ramify in the pia mater and anastomose with those of the anterior and posterior inferior cerebellar arteries.
Several branches are given to the pineal body, the anterior medullary velum, and the tela chorioidea of the third ventricle.
Areas Supplied
- Superior half of the cerebellum
- Parts of the midbrain
Pathology
The SCA is frequently the cause of trigeminal neuralgia, where it compresses the trigeminal nerve causing lancinating pain in the distribution of this nerve on the patient's face. However, at autopsy, 50% of people without trigeminal neuralgia will also be noted to have vascular compression of the nerve.