The anterior one third of the posterior limb of the internal capsule is also supplied by the anterior choroidal artery.

•The anterior type that involved the anterior 1/3 of the PLIC accounted for 7.7%.•The posterior type that involved the caudal 2/3 of the PLIC accounted for 51.1%.•The superior branches have two different types including the proximal and the distal twigs.•The anterior type is caused by the proximal occlusion, while the posterior type by the distal one.•Although the incidence is low, the anterior 1/3 of the PLIC is also supplied by the AChA.