Structures · Blood vessels
Posterior spinal arteries
A pair of arteries along the back of the cord, fed from above and by posterior radiculomedullary arteries, supplying the posterior columns and the back of the grey matter.
What the sources say
“The paired PSAs generally branch from the vertebral or posterior inferior cerebellar arteries and run longitudinally along the posterolateral surface of the spinal cord.” Iwamoto et al. 2026
“Together with the pial arterial plexus, which branches from both the PSA and the anterior spinal artery (ASA), they supply the posterior white columns, the posterior portion of the gray matter, and the outer portions of the anterior and lateral white columns [ 3 ].” Iwamoto et al. 2026
Read more
- Blood supply of the spinal cord
How blood reaches the cord: one anterior and two posterior spinal arteries running its length, topped up along the way by radiculomedullary arteries from the aorta, the largest being the artery of Adamkiewicz.
- Incomplete cord syndromes
Why damage to one part of the cord's cross-section gives a recognisable pattern. Brown-Séquard, central cord, anterior cord and posterior cord patterns, explained from the tracts and the blood supply.
For learning only. Levels and sizes vary between people; nothing here describes a particular person or gives medical advice. Sources: Iwamoto et al. 2026.