An increased distance between brain surface, represented by the terminal arterial branches, and 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. We investigated 54 patients (ages 60-79 years) suffering from cerebrovascular disease. Carotid angiographies of the afflicted hemispheres were carried out within 4 to 90 days after the stroke. The distance between vessels and skull was measured in frontal and lateral projection. We evaluated statistically the impact on this distance of alterations in extracranial vessel walls, number of attacks, severity of stroke, and patient's age. The results are compared to those of CAT. Only limited correlations have been found between the above-mentioned parameters and the distance between vessels and skull. Thus the distance is only of limited diagnostic value for the verification of senile cerebral atrophy on a vascular basis.