Middle Cerebral Artery Territory

Areas supplied by the middle cerebral artery include:

The bulk of the lateral surface of the hemisphere; except for the superior inch of the frontal and parietal lobe (anterior cerebral artery), and the inferior part of the temporal lobe.

Superior division supplies lateroinferior frontal lobe (location of Broca's area i.e. language expression)

Inferior division supplies lateral temporal lobe (location of Wernicke's area i.e. language comprehension)

Deep branches supply the basal ganglia as well as the internal capsule

MCA occlusion site and resulting Aphasia

Global – trunk of MCA

Broca – anterior branch of MCA

Wernicke – posterior branch of MCA


The MCA territory was divided into 12 areas: orbitofrontal, prefrontal, precentral, central, anterior parietal, posterior parietal, angular, temporo-occipital, posterior temporal, middle temporal, anterior temporal, and temporopolar. The smallest cortical arteries arose at the anterior end and the largest one at the posterior end of the Sylvian fissure. The largest cortical arteries supplied the temporo-occipital and angular areas 1).

1)
Gibo H, Carver CC, Rhoton AL Jr, Lenkey C, Mitchell RJ. Microsurgical anatomy of the middle cerebral artery. J Neurosurg. 1981 Feb;54(2):151-69. PubMed PMID: 7452329.