Figure 2.

Schematic illustrations for subtle terminological differences between intracranial stenosis and intracranial atherosclerotic disease (ICAD). (A) Intracranial stenosis is an angiographical term. Although it can differentiate pathophysiology, its reading on digital subtraction imaging is a gold-standard for diagnosis. (B) From the aspects of pathophysiology, intracranial stenosis may consist of atherosclerosis itself and also in situ thrombi. Despite this aspect, pathological diagnosis is never practical. In this context, intracranial stenosis on angiography is generally referred as ICAD or intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis.