Yonsei Med J.  2013 Jan;54(1):48-54. 10.3349/ymj.2013.54.1.48.

Reference Diameters of the Abdominal Aorta and Iliac Arteries in the Korean Population

• Joh JH
• Ahn HJ
• Park HC

• KMID: 1776917
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3349/ymj.2013.54.1.48

Abstract

PURPOSE
It is important to know the normal diameter of artery throughout the body so that clinicians are able to determine when an artery becomes aneurysmal. However, there are no previous studies on the normal diameter of arteries in the general Korean population. The purpose of this article is to determine the normal reference diameters of the abdominal aorta and iliac arteries in the Korean population.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
We recruited the study population from three cities in Korea for the abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) screening. We measured the diameter of the aorta and iliac arteries. We analyzed the reference diameter of the population without AAA. The results were analyzed by Student's t-test and ANOVA on SPSS version 19. A p value <0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.
RESULTS
One thousand two hundred and twenty-nine people were enrolled. 478 men and 751 women, with a mean age of 63.9+/-10.1 years (range 50 to 91) were examined. Eleven out of 1229 (0.89%) were diagnosed with AAA. In the population of 1218 people without AAA, the mean diameters (cm) of male/female were 2.20/2.11 (p<0.001) at suprarenal, 2.04/1.90 (p<0.001) at renal, 1.90/1.79 (p<0.001) at infrarenal, 1.22/1.17 (p<0.001) at right iliac and 1.47/1.15 (p=0.097) at the left iliac, respectively. There was a significantly larger diameter in the male population. The diameter of each level increased with age.
CONCLUSION
The normal reference diameter of the infrarenal abdominal aorta in the Korean population is 1.9 cm in males and 1.79 cm in females. The diameter of the abdominal aorta increases with age.

Keyword

Screening; ultrasonography; diameter; infrarenal aorta; abdominal

MeSH Terms

Age Factors
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Aorta, Abdominal/*anatomy & histology/ultrasonography
Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal/diagnosis/epidemiology
Female
Humans
Hypertension/complications
Iliac Artery/*anatomy & histology
Male
Middle Aged
Reference Values
Republic of Korea
Risk Factors

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 Levels of measurement. Diameters were measured at five levels of the abdominal aorta: suprarenal, renal, infrarenal, right iliac and left iliac arteries. SMA, superior mesenteric artery; RRA, right renal artery; LRA, left renal artery; RIA, right iliac artery; LIA, left iliac artery.

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