Rapid identification of the course of anomalous coronary arteries in adults: the "dot and eye" method.

It is often difficult to delineate the true course of anomalous coronary arteries by angiography because it only provides a 2-dimensional view of a complex 3-dimensional structure. The purpose of this study was to confirm morphologically the radiographic appearance of anomalous coronary arteries and to construct a protocol for rapid determination of their true course. Twenty-one adults who had anomalous origin of coronary arteries without other evidence of congenital heart disease were reviewed. Using an anatomically correct model of the heart, solder wire was placed in the pathologically described anomalous positions and radiographed. With this model the pathologically described courses could be easily recognized and separated radiographically. These courses were confirmed in the operating room in 2 patients and a rare anomaly of posterior origin of a coronary artery was also confirmed by autopsy.