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[Tortuosity of the internal carotid artery]
Insights
Internal carotid artery deformities like convolution and looping are common, especially in older individuals. These variations are likely age-related structural peculiarities, not necessarily pathological conditions.
Area of Science:
- Vascular anatomy
- Cerebrovascular diseases
Context:
- Internal carotid artery (ICA) deformities were studied in 1009 arteriograms.
- Patients presented with various cerebral pathologies, including hypertensive hemorrhages, intracranial aneurysms, subarachnoidal hemorrhages, tumors, and subdural hematomas.
Purpose:
- To examine the character and frequency of internal carotid artery deformities in patients with cerebral pathologies.
- To determine if these deformities are pathological or variations of normal anatomy.
Summary:
- Convolution and looping of the ICA were observed with varying prevalence across different cerebral pathologies.
- Prevalence was highest in hypertensive hemorrhages (37%) and intracranial sacculated aneurysms (35%).
- These deformities are hypothesized to be age-related structural variations, either congenital or acquired, rather than pathological manifestations.
Impact:
- Suggests that common ICA deformities (25-30%) may represent normal age-associated variations.
- Highlights the importance of considering anatomical variations in the internal carotid artery when diagnosing cerebrovascular conditions.
Abstract:
The character and frequency of internal carotid artery deformities on the neck were examined on 1009 arteriograms taken from patients suffering from various cerebral pathologies. Prevalence of convolution and looping of the artery was noted in patients with hypertensive hemorrhages (37%), hemorrhages due to intracranial sacculated aneurysms (35%), and, to a lesser extent, in patients with spontaneous subarachnoidal hemorrhages (19%), intracranial tumours (25%) and traumatic subdural hematomas (22%). This was, probably, due to age-related peculiarities of the vessel structure. It is supposed that the above deformities of the internal carotid artery are an extreme type of the structure that may be either congenital, or acquired. Since such deformities are rather frequent (25 to 30%) they should be regarded not as manifestations of a pathology, but rather as peculiarities of the vessel structure associated with age.