ModulePublishedclinician-educationstroke-escalationimaging

Lacunar (small vessel) vs cortical strokes — what they look like on imaging and exam (Advanced)

Advanced course: small vessel (lacunar) strokes often cause pure motor or pure sensory syndromes. Cortical strokes more often cause aphasia/neglect/field cuts. Learn detection with CT/MRI and why prevention differs.

ClinicianCaregiver, SurvivorAdvanced24 minGrade 11

Educational only

Educational only — not medical advice.

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If a patient develops new or worsening stroke symptoms, reduced consciousness, seizure, severe headache, airway/swallowing danger, or unstable vital signs, activate emergency response and follow local stroke escalation protocols.

Key takeaways

  • Recognize typical lacunar vs cortical symptom patterns
  • Explain why MRI may be needed to see small strokes
  • Know how cause categories affect prevention focus
  • Ask which category fits best and what evidence supports it

Why this matters

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Clinical frame

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Core clinical idea

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Assessment and workup

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Clinical reasoning pathway

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Management and team actions

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Common pitfalls

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Patient-safe explanation

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Escalation and safety signals

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Applied case

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Clinical scenario

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Common misconceptions

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Reflect

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Key takeaways

  • Recognize typical lacunar vs cortical symptom patterns
  • Advanced stroke care requires reconciling the clinical syndrome with timing, imaging, medication risk, patient context, and local pathway capacity.
  • A safe plan names escalation thresholds, responsible clinicians, patient-facing instructions, and the next step if results or symptoms change.

Practice check

What you’ll practice

These questions are untimed. After you answer all of them, you’ll see your score and a clear next lesson or reference step.

0 of 4 answered

Question 1

1. A learner is applying this lesson on Lacunar (small vessel) vs cortical strokes — what they look like on imaging and exam. Which approach best reflects advanced clinical reasoning?

Question 2

2. Which actions show safe handling of Lacunar (small vessel) vs cortical strokes — what they look like on imaging and exam? Select all that apply.

Question 3

3. Match each reasoning element to its role in Lacunar (small vessel) vs cortical strokes — what they look like on imaging and exam.

Question 4

4. For Lacunar (small vessel) vs cortical strokes — what they look like on imaging and exam, a normal or non-specific early test result is enough to stop reassessment when the clinical syndrome still suggests risk.

References

  1. Tier 2RadiologyInfo.org2025
    CT Angiography of the Head
  2. Tier 2RadiologyInfo.org2025
    Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) - Head