Anomalous Origin of the Left Vertebral Artery from the Aortic Arch: A Case Report

Abstract

This study presents and describes the anatomical variation of the left vertebral artery arising from the aortic arch in two female cadavers, discovered during dissection in an anatomical laboratory setting. This anomaly was initially discovered during a routine cadaveric dissection of the neck of a 64‐year‐old female cadaver. This finding prompted an evaluation of the remaining twenty‐five cadavers in the lab, leading to the discovery of the same variation in an 83‐year ‐old female. In both cadavers, the left vertebral artery originated from the aortic arch in between the origins of the left common carotid artery and the left subclavian artery. This is a variation, as the vertebral artery is typically known to branch off of the first part of the subclavian artery on both the right and left side. Following this discovery of the anomaly in the laboratory, a literature review was conducted to understand the prevalence of this variation in the general population as well as its clinical implications.