Cerebral Vasa Vasorum

Introduction

Vasa vasorum (VV) are defined literally as vessels of vessels, and are predominantly observed in large vessels with an important role under pathological conditions. Research on noncerebral VV has been established for over a century, including cardiac, pulmonary, aortic, and portal vein VV. Intracranial vessels were misrepresented to be devoid of VV, and increasing evidence for their existence widens the field of cerebral VV research. Constantly improving technology and modern radiologic methods reveal new aspects of intra- and extracranial cerebral VV, and provide further elucidation on how they act in neurovascular disease. However, cerebral VV remain a highly discussed topic with contradicting and discrepant theories .