An increased distance between the brain surface and the skull causes the appearance of a broad avascular band in the carotid angiogram, which -- apart from other criteria -- has been valued as a sign of cerebral atrophy. 54 patients (60 to 79 years old), suffering from cerebrovascular diseases, were examined. Carotid angiography of the afflicted hemispheres were carried out within 4 to 90 days after the stroke. The initially mentioned distance between the skull and the brain surface, represented by the terminal arterial branches, was measured in frontal and lateral projection. The influence of alterations of the wall of extracranial vessels, of the number of attacks, of the severity of the stroke as well as of the patient's age on the distance was statistically evaluated. The results were compared with those of cranial computerized tomography. Only limited correlations between the mentioned parameters and the distance between the vessels and the skull have been found. Thus the distance is only of limited diagnostic value for the verification of senile cerebral atropy on a vascular basis.