Department of Pathology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, United States.
Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, United States.
Folia Morphol (Warsz). 2023;82(3):721-725. doi: 10.5603/FM.a2022.0059. Epub 2022 Jun 13.
Vertebral arteries (VAs) serve as major blood vessels to the central nervous system. VAs typically arise from the subclavian arteries and ascend separately within the transverse foramina of the cervical vertebrae (C6-C1) before entering the skull at the foramen magnum and joining at the base of the pons to form the basilar artery of the vertebrobasilar circulation. Therefore, variations in the origin and anatomic course of the VAs have implications for invasive medical procedures involving the superior thoracic/cervical regions or the cervical vertebrae. The current case report describes variation in the entry point of both VAs and the site of origin of the left vertebral artery. The variation was revealed during routine dissection of a 72-year-old female cadaver. It was found that the left vertebral artery originated directly from the aortic arch to abnormally enter the transverse foramen of C4 instead of the transverse foramen of C6. The right vertebral artery arose as usual from the right subclavian artery. However, the right vertebral artery also directly entered the transverse foramen of C4 instead of the transverse foramen of C6.
椎动脉（VA）是中枢神经系统的主要血液供应血管。VA 通常起源于锁骨下动脉，在颈椎（C6-C1）的横突孔内分别上升，然后在颅底通过枕骨大孔进入颅骨，并在脑桥底部与基底动脉汇合形成椎基底循环。因此，VA 的起源和解剖路径的变化会影响涉及胸/颈上部或颈椎的侵入性医疗程序。本病例报告描述了 VA 的进入点和左侧椎动脉起源部位的变异。这种变异是在对一具 72 岁女性尸体进行常规解剖时发现的。发现左侧椎动脉直接发自主动脉弓，异常地进入 C4 的横突孔，而不是 C6 的横突孔。右侧椎动脉如常发自右锁骨下动脉。然而，右侧椎动脉也直接进入 C4 的横突孔，而不是 C6 的横突孔。
