Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Right vertebral artery arising from the right common carotid artery with an absent brachiocephalic trunk

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Surgical and Radiologic Anatomy Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The right and left vertebral arteries are the first branches of the ipsilateral subclavian arteries. However, in the presence of anatomical variation due to complex embryogenesis, the vertebral artery can arise directly from the aortic arch or any of its major branches. The atypical origin of the vertebral artery is commonly associated with the left vertebral artery. Anatomical variation in the origin of the right vertebral artery is rare. Most available reports are case reports from international studies. We report on a case of right vertebral artery arising from the ipsilateral common carotid artery with an absent brachiocephalic trunk in a South African patient examined by digital subtraction angiography. Reports on anatomical variations are of diagnostic importance prior to surgical interventions or endovascular treatment of cerebrovascular diseases such as cerebral aneurysms and arteriovenous malformations.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

Code availability

Not applicable.

References

  1. Bernardi L, Dettori P (1975) Angiographic study of a rare anomalous origin of the vertebral artery. Neuroradiology 9:43–47

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Da Silva R (2013) Anatomical study of the variation in the branching patterns and histology of the aorta in a South African population. University of Cape Town, Cape Town

    Google Scholar 

  3. Elnaggar ME, Abduljawad H, Assiri A, Ebrahim WH (2021) Anomalous origin of right vertebral artery from right common carotid artery. Radiol Case Rep 16:1574–1579. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radcr.2021.03.059

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  4. Fridah M, Vivienne N, Mutemwa S, Elliot K, Veronica S, Erzingastian K (2019) Anatomical variations of the vertebral artery in a Zambian indigenous adult population undergoing computerised tomography angiography at the university teaching hospitals Lusaka, Zambia. Anat J Afr 8:1486–1491

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. George B, Bruneau M (2011) Embryology of the vertebral artery. Pathology and surgery around the vertebral artery. Springer, New York, pp 5–24

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  6. Keet K, Gunston GD, Alexander RL (2019) Variations in the branching pattern of the aortic arch: an African perspective. Eur J Anat 23:91–102

    Google Scholar 

  7. Kesler WW, Sabat SB (2018) Isolated anomalous origin of the vertebral artery from the common carotid artery. Interact Cardiovasc Thorac Surg 27:615–616. https://doi.org/10.1093/icvts/ivy141

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Lazaridis N, Piagkou M, Loukas M, Piperaki E-T, Totlis T, Noussios G, Natsis K (2018) A systematic classification of the vertebral artery variable origin: clinical and surgical implications. Surg Radiol Anat. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-018-1987-3

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Lemke A-J, Benndorf G, Liebig T, Felix R (1999) Anomalous origin of the right vertebral artery: review of the literature and case report of right vertebral artery origin distal to the left subclavian artery. Am J Neuroradiol 20:1318–1321

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  10. Luh G, Dean B, Tomsick T, Wallace R (1999) The persistent fetal carotid-vertebrobasilar anastomoses. AJR Am J Roentgenol 172:1427–1432

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Magklara E-P, Pantelia E-T, Solia E, Panagouli E, Piagkou M, Mazarakis A, Skandalakis P, Troupis T, Filippou D (2021) Vertebral artery variations revised: origin, course, branches and embryonic development. Folia Morphol (Praha) 80:1–12. https://doi.org/10.5603/FM.a2020.0022

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Moshayedi P, Walker GB, Tavakoli S, Desai SM, Jadhav AP (2018) Dual origin of the right vertebral artery from the right common carotid and aberrant right subclavian arteries. J Clin Neurosci 53:258–260. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jocn.2018.04.045

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Omotoso B, Harrichandparsad R, Moodley I, Satyapal K, Lazarus L (2021) An anatomical investigation of the proximal vertebral arteries (V1, V2) in a select South African population. Surg Radiol Anat. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-021-02712-x

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  14. Rosen RD, Bordoni B (2021) Embryology, aortic arch. StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing, Feb 11

  15. Türkvatan A, Büyükbayraktar FG, Ölçer T, Cumhur T (2009) Congenital anomalies of the aortic arch: evaluation with the use of multidetector computed tomography. Korean J Radiol 10:176–184. https://doi.org/10.3348/kjr.2009.10.2.176

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  16. Vitošević F, Vitošević Z, Rasulić L (2020) The right vertebral artery arising from the right common carotid artery: report of a rare case. Surg Radiol Anat 42:1263–1266. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-020-02514-7

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Yuan S-M (2016) Aberrant origin of vertebral artery and its clinical implications. Braz J Cardiovasc Surg 31:52–59. https://doi.org/10.5935/1678-9741.20150071

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

No funding was provided for this study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Discipline of Clinical Anatomy, School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville Campus, Private Bag X54001, Durban, 4000, South Africa

    B. R. Omotoso & L. Lazarus

  2. Department of Neurosurgery, School of Clinical Medicine, Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa

    R. Harrichandparsad

Authors
  1. B. R. Omotoso
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. R. Harrichandparsad
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. L. Lazarus
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

BRO: manuscript writing and data collection. RH: data collection and manuscript writing (review and editing), LL: manuscript writing and editing.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to L. Lazarus.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Patient consent

Written informed consent was obtained from the patient on 09/10/2020, confirming that the patient agrees to use the images for academic purposes only. No identifying patient information is present in this paper.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Ethical approval

Not applicable.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Omotoso, B.R., Harrichandparsad, R. & Lazarus, L. Right vertebral artery arising from the right common carotid artery with an absent brachiocephalic trunk. Surg Radiol Anat 44, 733–736 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-022-02958-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-022-02958-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation