Caring for a patient who is recovering from a stroke
Imagine you are working on a team caring for a patient who is recovering from a stroke she had two days prior. This stroke was caused by an embolism that became lodged in the right anterior cerebral artery.
Using ultrasonography, it was discovered the embolism likely originated from a deep vein thrombosis in the right popliteal vein. This is perplexing, because you were taught that deep vein thromboses in the lower extremities become lodged in pulmonary arterioles or capillaries (they are not small enough to fit through those vessels). What is a possible explanation for this finding?
Please list the route of flow and all the structures the embolism would pass through in order to travel from the right popliteal vein to the right cerebral artery.
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