Neuropathology of cerebrovascular diseases

Cerebrovascular diseases cause significant global economic burden to the healthcare systems, stroke being the third leading cause of death in the developed world. With the advent of newer imaging techniques, the majority of common cerebrovascular diseases are accurately diagnosed in life, but in some cases the precise aetiology of stroke is only determined after post-mortem examination. This review discusses the basic cerebrovascular anatomy, pathology of cerebral ischaemia/infarction and haemorrhage, various causes for cerebrovascular disease and lastly, an approach to post-mortem examination in a cerebrovascular death.