Rare Case of an Accessory Left Vertebral Artery on the Aortic Arch

Abstract

Vascular variations of the head and neck are common, but often go unnoticed because they generally do not present clear clinical symptoms. Unawareness of the presence and location of such variations may result in iatrogenic complications or even fatalities. Medical physicians and surgeons should be cognizant of such deviations due to their clinical significance.Vertebral artery variations are prevalent in both number and origin, but not frequently documented in the literature. In this case study, a White 65‐year‐old male presented with an accessory left vertebral artery originating on the aortic arch, between the left common carotid artery and the left subclavian artery. This is the most common place for variations of this type, however, this individual also presented a normal left vertebral artery branching off of the left subclavian artery. This accessory left vertebral artery courses cranially, entering the foramina transversarium at the C4‐C5 level. The left vertebral artery also has an atypical course. It enters into the foramina transversarium at a higher level than its aberrant analog. With a prevalence rate of 2.04%, this rare anatomical variant illustrates the clinical importance of extensive anatomical understanding of head and neck vascular variations.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.