A double abdominal aorta with a double inferior vena cava: a human congenital vascular patterning defect

Developmental abnormalities of the abdominal aorta are exceedingly rare, and the molecular mechanisms underlying these defects are unknown.

We present computed angiographic findings of a 64-year-old female with long-standing hypertension having an abdominal double aorta accompanied by a double inferior vena cava. The abdominal aorta bifurcated into two lumens just caudal to the diaphragm at the level of the 12th thoracic vertebra. The dorsal abdominal aortic trunk supplied several lumbar arteries, the inferior mesenteric artery, and both iliac arteries. The ventral abdominal aortic trunk supplied the celiac artery, both renal arteries, and the superior mesenteric artery.

We propose that a defect in the development of the aortic vascular smooth muscle is a possible mechanism for this rare anomaly based on our current understanding of the formation of the aorta during early embryonic development.