Atraumatic extracranial vertebral artery aneurysm: case report and review of the literature.

A case of atherosclerotic aneurysm of the extracranial vertebral artery in a 31-year-old woman is reported. The lesion was excised after distal and proximal ligation of the vessel. Review of the literature showed that atraumatic extracranial vertebral artery aneurysm unrelated to systemic illness is rare. Analysis of the reported cases of such lesions disclosed only one comparable case in a 73-year-old man.