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Anatomy and radiology of the variations of aortic arch branches in 1,266 patients
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Abstract
Background: The most reliable data about arterial variations, which are very important in surgery and radiology, can be obtained from a large series of patients.
Materials and methods: We examined angiographic and multislice computerised tomography (MSCT) images in a group of 1,265 patients and in 1 dissected specimen.
Results: While in 946 (74.72%) of the patients a normal vascular pattern (type I) was noticed, in the remaining 320 (25.28%) patients variations of the branchesof the aortic arch were found, which were classified into types II through VIII and a few subtypes. Type II (2.84%) comprised a common origin of the left commoncarotid and subclavian arteries. Type III (15.56%) was related to an origin of the left subclavian artery from the brachiocephalic trunk. Type IV (0.55%) includedthe aortic origin of both common carotid and subclavian arteries, with the rightsubclavian artery having a retroesophageal course. Type V (0.24%) included thesame 4 supra-aortic branches, which, however, arose from a double or a right--sided aortic arch. Type VI (3.63%) comprised the aortic origin of the left vertebralartery, type VII (0.24%) the same origin of the right vertebral artery, and type VIII(2.22%) the aortic origin of the thyroideaima artery. A corresponding embryological background and clinical implications of the described aberrant vessels were presented.
Conclusions: In more than one quarter of the cases, the branching pattern of the examined arteries did not follow the classical pattern. Detailed knowledge of aortic branch variations is of great significance in anatomy, embryology, andclinical medicine, especially in radiology and thoracic surgery.
Abstract
Background: The most reliable data about arterial variations, which are very important in surgery and radiology, can be obtained from a large series of patients.
Materials and methods: We examined angiographic and multislice computerised tomography (MSCT) images in a group of 1,265 patients and in 1 dissected specimen.
Results: While in 946 (74.72%) of the patients a normal vascular pattern (type I) was noticed, in the remaining 320 (25.28%) patients variations of the branchesof the aortic arch were found, which were classified into types II through VIII and a few subtypes. Type II (2.84%) comprised a common origin of the left commoncarotid and subclavian arteries. Type III (15.56%) was related to an origin of the left subclavian artery from the brachiocephalic trunk. Type IV (0.55%) includedthe aortic origin of both common carotid and subclavian arteries, with the rightsubclavian artery having a retroesophageal course. Type V (0.24%) included thesame 4 supra-aortic branches, which, however, arose from a double or a right--sided aortic arch. Type VI (3.63%) comprised the aortic origin of the left vertebralartery, type VII (0.24%) the same origin of the right vertebral artery, and type VIII(2.22%) the aortic origin of the thyroideaima artery. A corresponding embryological background and clinical implications of the described aberrant vessels were presented.
Conclusions: In more than one quarter of the cases, the branching pattern of the examined arteries did not follow the classical pattern. Detailed knowledge of aortic branch variations is of great significance in anatomy, embryology, andclinical medicine, especially in radiology and thoracic surgery.
Keywords
anatomical variations, aortic arch, neck arteries, radiology, thoracic arteries, thoracic surgery
About this articleTitle
Anatomy and radiology of the variations of aortic arch branches in 1,266 patients
Journal
Issue
Article type
Original article
Pages
113-122
Published online
2013-06-01
Page views
4620
Article views/downloads
5333
DOI
10.5603/FM.2013.0019
Bibliographic record
Folia Morphol 2013;72(2):113-122.
Keywords
anatomical variations
aortic arch
neck arteries
radiology
thoracic arteries
thoracic surgery
Authors
G. Vučurević
S. Marinković
L. Puškaš
I. Kovačević
S. Tanasković
D. Radak
A. Ilić
