J Korean Soc Radiol.  2013 Jan;68(1):1-4.

Duplication of the Left Vertebral Artery Origin: A Case Report

• Shin SW
• Park DW
• Park CK
• Lee YJ
• Lee SR

Abstract

Duplication of vertebral arteries is a very rare but clinically important condition. A duplicated vertebral artery origin can influence hemodynamics, pathogenesis of vascular lesions and treatment options. In cases of vertebral artery duplication, the vertebral arteries generally enter the transverse foramen higher up than normal. Awareness of these vertebral artery variants before procedures, such as neurointervention or surgery, may be beneficial. Here, we describe a case of a 51-year-old female patient with left vertebral artery duplication which was detected incidentally.

MeSH Terms

Female
Hemodynamics
Humans
Vertebral Artery

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 Duplication of the left vertebral artery origin in a 51-year-old female patient (magnetic resonance angiogram not shown). A. Computed tomography angiography (CTA) maximum intensity projection image shows that the duplicated limbs of the left vertebral artery unite to form the distal part of the left vertebral artery (arrow). B. CTA axial source image shows a hypoplastic limb (arrow) arising from the aortic arch and a normal limb (arrowhead) arising from the left subclavian artery at the C5 level.

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  Fig. 2 Duplication of the left vertebral artery origin in a 51-year-old female patient. A. Left subclavian angiographic image shows the normal limb of the duplicated left vertebral artery (arrow) arising from the left subclavian artery. B, C. Selective angiography of the anomalous hypoplastic limb (arrowhead) shows it is the third branch of the aortic arch, and opacifies the left vertebral artery as a result of the retrograde flow into the normal limb (arrow).

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