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Anatomy and radiology of the variations of aortic arch branches in 1,266 patients

G Vučurević1, S Marinković, L Puškaš

  • 1mocamarinkovic@med.bg.ac.rs.

Folia Morphologica
|June 7, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Arterial variations in aortic arch branching are common, affecting over a quarter of patients. Understanding these anatomical differences is crucial for surgical and radiological procedures.

Area of Science:

  • Anatomy
  • Radiology
  • Embryology

Background:

  • Arterial variations are critical for surgical and radiological procedures.
  • Large patient series provide the most reliable data on these variations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To classify and analyze variations in the branching patterns of the aortic arch arteries.
  • To present the embryological background and clinical implications of these aberrant vessels.

Main Methods:

  • Examination of angiographic and multislice computerised tomography (MSCT) images.
  • Analysis of data from 1,265 patients and 1 dissected specimen.

Main Results:

  • A normal vascular pattern (Type I) was observed in 74.72% of patients.
  • Variations (Types II-VIII) were found in 25.28% of patients, including common origins of carotid and subclavian arteries, aberrant vertebral artery origins, and variations in aortic arch structure.
  • Specific variations included common origin of left common carotid and subclavian arteries (2.84%), left subclavian artery from brachiocephalic trunk (15.56%), and aortic origin of left vertebral artery (3.63%).

Conclusions:

  • Over 25% of individuals exhibit non-classical aortic arch branching patterns.
  • Detailed knowledge of these aortic branch variations is essential for anatomy, embryology, and clinical practice, particularly in radiology and thoracic surgery.
Abstract

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