A cerebral aneurysm is an abnormal bulge in the wall of an artery within the brain, most commonly occurring at branching points of the major arteries at the base of the brain in the circle of Willis. If a cerebral aneurysm ruptures, it causes a subarachnoid hemorrhage, a type of stroke that can be fatal or cause severe brain damage. While cerebral aneurysms themselves are typically detected with CT or MR angiography, transcranial Doppler ultrasound plays an important role in monitoring patients after aneurysm rupture by detecting vasospasm, a dangerous narrowing of brain arteries that commonly occurs in the days following a subarachnoid hemorrhage.
Sonography Term