Which artery is most frequently affected by stroke?

• A. Anterior Communicating Artery
• B. Posterior Communicating Artery
• C. Anterior Cerebral Artery
• D. Middle Cerebral Artery

Answer: (D)

Strokes most often involve a large artery that delivers blood to a broad area of the cerebral cortex, and the middle cerebral artery fits that pattern. It supplies a wide expanse of the lateral frontal, parietal, and temporal lobes, including the primary motor and sensory areas for the face and arm, and, on the dominant side, language regions. Because it covers such a substantial functional territory, a blockage here tends to produce noticeable and characteristic deficits, making MCA occlusion the most frequent stroke pattern.

In practical terms, this often leads to contralateral weakness and sensory loss that’s greatest in the face and arm, and language disturbances if the dominant hemisphere is involved. Other arteries supply smaller, more restricted regions—such as the medial surfaces or occipital areas—so strokes there are less common compared to the wide-reaching territory of the middle cerebral artery.