Such knowledge as we have of these steps is derived from casual glimpses afforded when, as the outcome of one of Nature’s experiments, some particular line is interfered with . . .—Archibald E. Garrod, Inborn Errors of Metabolism
Arterial tortuosity and dilatation has usually been called dolichoectasia, a term used to describe marked elongation, widening, and tortuosity of arteries. Because dilatation is the most important feature, the condition is now often referred to as dilatative arteriopathy.1 Approximately 1 patient in 8 who underwent intracranial vascular imaging has some increase in the length and diameter of intracranial arteries.2,3 The prevalence of intracranial dolichoectasia is approximately 0.1% to 5.8% among the general population.4-6 The intracranial vertebrobasilar arteries are most often and most severely involved. The cervical arteries may also be loopy and dilated. The changes in the brain-supplying cervicocranial arteries are often accompanied by dilatation of the aorta3 and the coronary arteries7 and by abnormalities within the small penetrating arteries within the brain.8