Surgical and Radiologic Anatomy

, Volume 34, Issue 2, pp 187–189 | Cite as

Central retinal artery originating from the temporal short posterior ciliary artery associated with intraorbital external-to-internal carotid arterial anastomoses

  • Mohammadali M. Shoja
  • Alon Harris
  • Yochai Shoshani
  • Brent Siesky
  • Sally Primus
  • Marios Loukas
  • R. Shane Tubbs
Anatomic Variations

Abstract

Although variations in the peripapillary division pattern of the central retinal artery (CRA) are common, variations in the origin of this artery are seldom reported in the literature. Herein, the authors report a variant of the CRA that originated from the temporal short posterior ciliary artery. Two intraorbital anastomoses were also noted between the internal and external carotid arterial systems: one through the lacrimal artery–middle meningeal artery to the ophthalmic artery and the other through supraorbital artery–recurrent meningeal artery to the ophthalmic artery. A brief review of CRA variations and potential clinical significances of the observed variant are discussed.

Keywords

Anatomy Artery Eye Retina Vascular 

Notes

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Copyright information

© Springer-Verlag 2011

Authors and Affiliations

  • Mohammadali M. Shoja
    • 1
    • 2
  • Alon Harris
    • 1
  • Yochai Shoshani
    • 1
  • Brent Siesky
    • 1
  • Sally Primus
    • 1
  • Marios Loukas
    • 3
  • R. Shane Tubbs
    • 4
  1. 1.Department of Ophthalmology, Ocular Vascular Research Center, Glaucoma Research and Diagnostic Center, Eugene and Marilyn Glick Eye InstituteIndiana University School of MedicineIndianapolisUSA
  2. 2.Neuroscience Research Center (NSRC)Tabriz University of Medical SciencesTabrizIran
  3. 3.Department of Anatomical Sciences, School of MedicineSt. George’s UniversityGrenadaWest Indies
  4. 4.Pediatric NeurosurgeryChildren’s HospitalBirminghamUSA

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