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Fetal carotid-vertebrobasilar anastomoses: persistent hypoglossal artery associated with further variations of the circle of Willis

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Abstract

During a routine dissection of the head and neck regions, a right persistent hypoglossal artery was found in a male individual who had died at approximately 40 years of age. This variation is associated with hypoplasia of the right and left vertebral arteries and absence of the right posterior communicating artery. Clinical implications of this variation are described. The article includes a review of the fetal carotid-vertebrobasilar anastomoses, their embryological explanation and associated pathologies.

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Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank German Ruffolo, Fernando Beltramo, and the Radiology department of the Austral University Hospital for their help.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Anatomy Department, Hospital Universitario Austral, Juan Domingo Perón 1500, Pilar, Buenos Aires, B1664INZ, Argentina

    Roberto Andrés Guerri-Guttenberg

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  1. Roberto Andrés Guerri-Guttenberg
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Correspondence to Roberto Andrés Guerri-Guttenberg.

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Guerri-Guttenberg, R.A. Fetal carotid-vertebrobasilar anastomoses: persistent hypoglossal artery associated with further variations of the circle of Willis. Surg Radiol Anat 31, 311–315 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-008-0406-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-008-0406-6

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