CardioVascular and Interventional Radiology

, Volume 32, Issue 2, pp 250–254 | Cite as

The Anterior Branch of the Left Inferior Phrenic Artery Arising from the Right Inferior Phrenic Artery: An Angiographic and CT Study

  • Masashi Hieda
  • Naoyuki Toyota
  • Hideaki Kakizawa
  • Masaki Ishikawa
  • Jun Horiguchi
  • Katsuhide Ito
Clinical Investigation
First Online:
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to retrospectively analyze the frequency and anatomical pattern of the anterior branch of the left inferior phrenic artery (LIPA) arising from the right inferior phrenic artery (RIPA). Angiography of the RIPA for patients (n = 140) with hepatic malignancy was retrospectively reviewed. The frequency at which the anterior branch of the LIPA arose from the RIPA was 14.3% (20 of 140 patients [pts]). Among the three branches that may arise from the RIPA in these cases (the anterior branch of the LIPA and the anterior and posterior branches of the RIPA), the anterior branch of the LIPA was the first branch of the RIPA in 9 of 20 pts (45%), and the posterior branch of the RIPA in 11 of 20 pts (55%). The anterior branch of the LIPA ran along the ventral side of the esophagus or stomach and supplied the esophagogastric region and dome of the left diaphragm in all cases. In conclusion, the anterior branch of the LIPA arises from the RIPA at a comparatively high frequency. In embolization of the RIPA, to effectively treat and avoid possible complications, interventionalists should be aware of this potential variant anatomy.

Keywords

Inferior phrenic artery Anterior branch Posterior branch 
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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2008

Authors and Affiliations

  • Masashi Hieda
    • 1
  • Naoyuki Toyota
    • 1
  • Hideaki Kakizawa
    • 1
  • Masaki Ishikawa
    • 1
  • Jun Horiguchi
    • 1
  • Katsuhide Ito
    • 1
  1. 1.Department of Radiology, Division of Medical Intelligence and Informatics, Programs for Applied Biomedicine, Graduate School of Biomedical ScienceHiroshima UniversityHiroshimaJapan

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