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Unilateral segmental agenesis of the vertebral artery at the C2 level

  • Anatomic Variations
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Abstract

Purpose

To report a case of unilateral segmental agenesis of the vertebral artery (VA).

Methods

We describe the angiographic and MRI features of a segmental VA agenesis (C2 segment).

Results

VA agenesis is caused by the absence of the anastomotic connection normally linking two adjacent intersegmental arteries; in the reported observation, a paravertebral extraforaminal anastomosis replaced the C2 segment normally joining the 1st and 2nd cervical intersegmental arteries through the C2 transverse foramen.

Conclusion

We present an observation of segmental VA agenesis. This variant is consistent with the developmental history of the VA. It appears exceptional but is more likely underappreciated.

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Funding

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Interventional Neuroradiology, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, 1800 E Orleans Street, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA

    Philippe Gailloud & Ayushi Gautam

  2. Department of Neurosurgery, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, 1800 E Orleans Street, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA

    Justin Caplan

Authors
  1. Philippe Gailloud
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  2. Ayushi Gautam
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  3. Justin Caplan
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Contributions

PG: project development, data analysis, and manuscript writing/editing; AG: data analysis and manuscript editing; JC: data collection and manuscript editing.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Philippe Gailloud.

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Conflict of interest

P. Gailloud is a consultant for Cerenovus (honoraria) and a recipient of research grants from Siemens Medical (paid to institution). The other authors have no conflict of interest.

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Gailloud, P., Gautam, A. & Caplan, J. Unilateral segmental agenesis of the vertebral artery at the C2 level. Surg Radiol Anat 42, 189–192 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-019-02357-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-019-02357-x

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