lacunar infarction


Any of multiple small cerebral infarcts in the corona radiata, internal capsule, striatum, thalamus, basis pontis, and/or cerebellum, occasionally preceded by transient symptoms, due to occlusion or stenosis of small penetrating branches of the middle and posterior cerebral and median branches of the basilar arteries; resolution of infarcts is characterised by residual 1–3-mm cavities or lacunae, characteristic of long-standing hypertension

lacunar infarction

A small stroke deep within the brain (as in the internal capsule, basal ganglia, thalamus, or pons) caused by damage to or a blockage of a tiny penetrating artery. Lacunar infarctions are associated with a kind of vascular damage caused by chronic high blood pressure called lipohyalinosis. They may be asymptomatic, showing up only on brain imaging, or may produce pure motor, pure sensory, ataxic, or mixed motor and sensory symptoms. Synonym: lacunar strokeSee also: infarction