Herpes zoster arteritis: pathological findings.

This paper describes the pathological findings in two cases of delayed contralateral hemiparesis following herpes zoster arteritis. Both died of cerebral haemorrhage and a necrotizing angiitis was found involving the major vessels of the ipsilateral cerebral hemisphere. No feature of granulomatous arteritis or of encephalitis was found. It is likely that the virus spreads along intracranial branches of the ophthalmic nerve supplying the major arteries and causes the inflammatory reaction by direct invasion of vascular muscle.