Rare origin of the left vertebral artery from distal thoracic aorta and accessory left posterior cerebral artery: a case report and clinical significance.

PURPOSE: Anatomic variants of the posterior cerebral circulation pose important clinical implications and are essential to understand during the preparation and execution of various endovascular, cranial, and thoracic procedures.

METHODS

We discuss the case of a 54-year-old woman presenting with subarachnoid hemorrhage and found to have a left vertebral artery originating from the descending thoracic aorta at the level of T5 and accessory, "true fetal" posterior cerebral artery on Digital Subtraction Angiography (DSA).

RESULTS

While the "fetal" posterior cerebral artery (PCA) variant is relatively common, the "true fetal" PCA involves persistence of the primitive anterior choroidal artery into adulthood, despite the development of a second posterior circulation artery. In similar fashion, the aortic artery origin of the vertebral artery is well documented, but origin below the level of T4 is not observed in human or mammalian anatomy.

CONCLUSION

To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of the vertebral artery originating from the descending aorta below the level of T4, and the only reported case with both variants present in the same patient, thus warranting further discussion of their embryologic origins and clinical ramifications.