A Study on Coronary Artery Dominance and Divisions of Main Trunk of Left Coronary Artery in Adult Human Cadaveric Hearts of South Indian Population

Abstract

Background and objectives: Coronary artery disease is one of the major causes of death in developing countries. The coronary arteries show wide range of variations and these variations have not been dealt in different population groups. The present study aims to focus on the pattern and variations of coronary artery in south Indian population. Methods: The study was performed to analyze the coronary artery dominance and divisions of main trunk of left coronary artery in 81 isolated adult human cadaveric hearts of south Indian population. The specimens were fixed in 10% formalin and were dissected manually. Results: In our specimens, 74.1% of the hearts were right dominant, 11.1% were left dominant and 14.8% were co-dominant. Bifurcation, trifurcation and quadrifurcation of main trunk of left coronary artery were seen in 49.4%, 48.1%, and 2.5% cases, respectively. The right dominant hearts had bifurcation, trifurcation and quadrifurcation of main trunk of left coronary artery in 46.7%, 50% and 3.3% hearts, respectively. The left dominant hearts had bifurcation and trifurcation of main trunk of left coronary artery in 55.6% and 44.4% cases, respectively. The co-dominant hearts had bifurcation and trifurcation of main trunk of left coronary artery in 58.3% and 41.7%, respectively. Quadrifurcation of main trunk of left coronary artery were seen only in right dominant hearts. Conclusion: We believe that the data obtained from the present study are important to the interventional cardiologists and radiologists. The details obtained will also be helpful for the clinical anatomists.