A rare abnormality of the vertebral artery is described in a 63-year-old male. The right vertebral artery consisted of several minute endothelial lined channels which failed to perfuse at autopsy. The anterior spinal artery showed areas of muscular media dysplasia. These anomalies were associated with large posterior communicating arteries. The terminal event was precipitated by thrombotic occl...

Fenestration of the vertebral artery is a rare vascular anomaly that has been observed at autopsy and on angiography. It is most commonly seen in the extracranial segments of the vertebral artery. This congenital anomaly can arise during multiple different stages of embryological development of the vertebral artery. The clinical significance is unclear, but multiple studies have reported associ...

We report the case of a patient with unilateral tongue weakness secondary to an isolated lower motor neuron hypoglossal nerve palsy that was caused by a right vertebral artery dissection in the lower neck. The patient had a boggy tongue with a deviation to the right side but an otherwise normal neurological examination. Magnetic resonance angiography showed a narrow lumen of the right vertebral...

The foramen arcuale is infrequently found and is potentially a clinically/surgically significant anatomical variation of the atlas. When present, the vertebral artery travels through this bony ring after exiting the transverse foramen of the atlas and prior to entering the cranium. We present a case of an adult female skeleton noted to harbor both a foramen arcuale and a lateral ponticle that r...

The indications for revascularization of the vertebral arteries are symptoms of vertebrobasilar insufficiency, namely, dizziness, visual disturbances, and confusion or coma. There is a great deal of variation from patient to patient in the severity of lesions causing symptoms . In some patients the degree of stenosis may be severe yet the patient may experience minimal or no symptoms; in others...

As early as 1844, Quain1 described the anatomy and operative surgery of the extracranial vertebral artery in lithographic drawings. In 1893, Matas2 described the contributions made in the early 1800s by other sur geons such as Dietrich, Velpeau, and Maisonneuve for the treatment of penetrating trauma to the vertebral artery. In 1831, Dietrich first proposed ligating the dis tal vertebral artery...

BACKGROUND Twenty to 30 percent of all transient ischaemic attacks and ischaemic strokes involve tissue supplied by the vertebrobasilar circulation. Atherosclerotic stenosis >/= 50% in the vertebral artery accounts for vertebrobasilar stroke in at least one third of the patients. The risk of recurrent vascular events in patients with vertebral stenosis is uncertain and revascularisation of vert...

Using directional continuous-wave Doppler sonography of the vertebral arteries, we have investigated 1,540 patients during the past 5 years. On the basis of unilateral and bilateral retrograde brachial angiograms in the same patients (a total of 1,989 angiograms) we have developed sonographic criteria for demonstrating a significant increase in the peripheral resistance of both distal vertebral...

1. Kaplan SS, Ogitvy CS, Gonzalez R, Gress D, Pile-Spellman J. Extracranial vertebral artery pseudoaneurysm presenting as subarachnoid hemorrhage. Stroke. 1993;24:1397-1399. 2. Saver JL, Easton JD, Hart RG. Dissections and trauma of cervicocerebral arteries. In: Barnett HJM, Mohr JP, Stein BM, Yatsu FM, eds. Stroke: Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, and Management. 2nd ed. New York, NY: Churchill Liv...

The vertebral artery normally arises from the subclavian artery, and variations in its origin have been described. We describe a unique case of the left vertebral artery arising from the thyrocervical trunk.