Medical Matters: Brain aneurysms: the silent threat that can turn deadly

What is brain aneurysm? I think first let's take it back to what structures are affected by brain aneurysm.

So in our system, we've got the veins and the arteries.

So mainly the aneurysms that affect the part of the system which we call the arteries.

So the arteries is your vascular system that transport I won't go into technicalities because there are also pulmonary veins which are actually arteries but let's just stick to the basics so that everybody understands so the arteries they transport oxygenated blood from the lungs to the heart, to the system, so that the body can function.

So those are the actual parts that we'll be talking about today.

Mainly, and I must make a disclaimer, brain aneurysm is not only in the brains.

Because our blood vessels, they don't only confine themselves in the brain.

You can have abdominal aneurysms, then you can also have the ones in the legs as well so but today we limit ourselves mostly our discussion on the one in the brain so the artery itself let's look at the structure how it's formed

yes

it has got three layers so it's very easy to remember them if you remember we used to say tunic so there are three tunics which are in in in the in the in the atris there's a tunica intima which is the internal one And the tunica media, which is the medium one, and tunica externa, it's self-explanatory, it's the outer

one.

So now, those layers, they are responsible for certain functions to regulate the flow or the pressure in your blood system.

Now what is critically important as we discuss the causes, you realize why I mentioned all of them so that it makes sense as we discuss the

causes because we'll come to that.

So when the middle one which is the medium which consists of the muscles or the fibers of the artery gets affected, I will give a simple example as well so that we remember.

It's like when you're driving, those who have cars, a tire bumps on an object.

There's that balloon.

Yes, there's a little bump that comes out.

That's aneurysm.

Now you

get it, yes.

So I see that often.

So it's like a little bubble that sort of extends

to

the outer