Walsh & Hoyt: Leptomeningeal Arterioles

A leptomeningeal plexus of arterioles is interlaced over the entire surface of each cerebral hemisphere. This pial arteriolar plexus interconnects the supply areas of all the major cerebral arteries. The smaller, shorter vessels provide a rich blood supply to the gray matter, whereas the larger, longer penetrating vessels supply the white matter. As might be expected, the gray matter, which has a higher metabolic rate, also has greater vascularity.