Cerebral haemorrhage, illustration. Haemorrhage of the right cerebral hemisphere formerly called apoplexy but now referred to as a stroke. The cavity filled with blood is in the basal ganglia region of white matter, a part of the brain for fine control of voluntary movement. A spontaneous haemorrhagic stroke arising from hypertension has an abrupt onset of symptoms with weakness and if progressive, death occurs within hours or days. From Bollinger, O. 1901 Atlas und Gundriss der Pathologischen Anatomie, vol 2. Lehmann, Munich.