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Chiari’s network: review of the literature

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Abstract

The Chiari network, present in approximately 2% of the population, and is a reticulated network of fibers originating from the Eustachian connecting to different parts of the right atrium. Its presence results from incomplete reabsorption of the right valve of the sinus venosus. Chiari’s network is often clinically insignificant. However, it has been reported to be involved in the pathogenesis of thromboembolic disease, endocarditis, arrhythmias, and entrapment of catheters upon percutaneous intervention. While initially discovered and researched using autopsy dissections, Chiari’s network is often found as an incidental finding on diagnostic imaging studies, thus providing new methods for studying its incidence and clinical significance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomical Sciences, School of Medicine, St George’s University, Grenada, West Indies

    Marios Loukas, Ashley Sullivan, Trevor DerDerian & Michael Hanna

  2. Section of Pediatric Neurosurgery, Children’s Hospital, Birmingham, AL, USA

    R. Shane Tubbs

  3. Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Anthony J. Weinhaus

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  1. Marios Loukas
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  2. Ashley Sullivan
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  3. R. Shane Tubbs
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Correspondence to Marios Loukas.

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Loukas, M., Sullivan, A., Tubbs, R.S. et al. Chiari’s network: review of the literature. Surg Radiol Anat 32, 895–901 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-010-0639-z

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