descending motor systems that they are locked
in (i.e., have quadriplegia and supranuclear im-
pairment of facial and oropharyngeal motor
function).
85
Motor responses may be limited to
vertical eye movements and blinking.
Destructive lesions of the brainstem may
occur as a result of vascular disease, tumor, in-
fection, or trauma. The most common cause of
brainstem destructive lesions is the occlusion of
the vertebral or basilar arteries. Such occlu-
sions typically produce signs that pinpoint the
level of the infarction. Hemorrhagic lesions
of the brainstem are most commonly intrapa-
renchymal hemorrhages into the base of the
pons, although arteriovenous malformations
may occur at any level. Infections that have a
predilection for the brainstem include Listeria
monocytogenes, which tends to cause rhomben-
cephalic abscesses
86
(see Figure 4–13). Trauma
that penetrates the brainstem is usually not a
problem diagnostically, as it is almost always
immediately fatal.
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Plum and Posner’s Diagnosis of Stupor and Coma