Figure 5 - available from: Surgical and Radiologic Anatomy
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Schematic illustration of the right carotid angiogram. This illustration shows occipital artery arising from the internal carotid artery. ICA internal carotid artery, OA occipital artery, CCA common carotid artery, ECA external carotid artery, STA superior thyroid artery, APA ascending pharyngeal artery, MA maxillary artery
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Variations of the branches of the external carotid artery have been well documented in the available literature. However, variation of the occipital artery arising from the internal carotid artery is extremely rare case. A 42-year-old man patient who suffered from subarachnoid hemorrhage with suspicious vascular anomalies was found to have this var...
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Background
Vascular anomaly and aneurysmal formation of an anterior communicating artery (Acom) complex has often been reported. Because of such a complicated relationship between the vascular structure and aneurysms, Acom aneurysm is one of the most difficult aneurysms to treat among other common anterior circulation aneurysms. We experienced an e...
Citations
... A number of other authors describe the origin of the OA associated with a single vertical level, or landmark, as follows. Newton and Young (1968) and Özgür et al. (2017) described that the OA normally branches from the ECA at the level of the FA [14,15]. Barral and Croibier (2011) described that the OA arises in the neck, anterior to the mastoid process, from the posterior aspect of the ECA and "branches off the carotid artery slightly above the FA" [16]. ...
... Benson and Hamer documented in 1988 a series of early reports of abnormal origin of OA [34]. These authors documented that Hyrtle reported in 1841 a case in which the OA and AAP originated in the common trunk from the ICA [35]; such an occipitoauricular trunk was later reported also by Quain [36] [15,[38][39][40]. Hachem et al. (2004) reported a case with asymptomatic occlusion of the ICA due to the presence of an OA that left the ICA above the carotid sinus and communicated with the vertebral artery on that side [41]. ...
Background and Objectives. The occipital artery (OA) is a posterior branch of the external carotid artery (ECA). The origin of the OA is commonly referred to a single landmark. We hypothesized that the origin of the OA could be variable as referred to the hyoid bone and the gonial angle. We thus aimed at patterning the vertical topographic possibilities of the OA origin. Materials and Methods. One hundred archived computed tomography angiograms were randomly selected, inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied, and 90 files were kept (53 males, 37 females). The cases were documented bilaterally for different levels of origin of the OA origin: type 1—infrahyoid; type 2—hyoid; 3—infragonial; 4—gonial; 5—supragonial; 6—origin from the internal carotid artery (ICA). Results. The incidence of unilateral types in the 180 OAs was: type 1—1.11%, type 2—5.56%, type 3—40.56%, type 4—28.33%, type 5—23.33% and type 6, ICA origin of the OA—1.11%. There was found a significant association between the location of the left and right origins of the OAs (Pearson Chi2 = 59.18, p < 0.001), which suggests the presence of a strong symmetry of the origins. Bilateral symmetry of the vertical types of the OA origin was observed in 56.67% of cases; in 43.33% there was bilateral asymmetry. Conclusions. The ICA origin of the OA is an extremely rare variant. For surgical planning or prior to endovascular approaches the topography of the OA origin should be carefully documented, as it may be located from an infrahyoid to a supragonial level.
... The OA arises normally from the posterior wall of the proximal main trunk of the external carotid artery and rarely from the physiologically dilated origin of the internal carotid artery (the so-called carotid bulb) and the vertebral artery (VA) at the V3 segment [7]. Most OAs of ICA origin arise from the posterior wall of the carotid bulb, but extremely rarely, the vessel arises from the anterior wall [5]. The reported MR angiographic prevalence of the OA arising from the ICA is 0.14% [7], and Iwai and colleagues [2] found only 1 case among 265 patients in which computed tomography angiography demonstrated the OA arising from the ICA. ...
We incidentally observed the occipital artery (OA) arising from the cervical internal carotid artery (ICA) at the level of the C2 vertebral body on magnetic resonance (MR) angiography in three patients. In the rare case in which the OA arises from the ICA, it is generally at its origin. The OA arises from the cervical ICA when all but the distal part of the anastomosis of the primitive proatlantal artery between the ICA and vertebral artery persists. Careful review of MR angiographic images is important to detect rare arterial variations, and both partial maximum-intensity-projection images and source images aid their identification on MR angiography.
The occipital artery (OccA) is one of the major branches of the external carotid artery (ECA) [1, 2]. During the last 20 years, neuroradiologists and neurosurgeons demonstrated an increasing interest on the OccA for different reasons. For example, for the treatment of dural arteriovenous fistula since the OccA is often concerned or for the use of this artery in case of intracranial-extracranial arterial anastomosis [3, 4]. The occipital artery is also fascinating for its complex embryological development that is not already thoroughly known [5]. In this chapter, we will summarize the anatomy and variations concerning the OccA after a comprehensive description of the embryological development of the pharyngo-occipital system.
This chapter includes (1) Occipital artery arising from the carotid bulb, (2) Occipital artery arising from the cervical internal carotid artery, (3) Ascending pharyngeal artery arising from the internal carotid artery, and (4) Persistent stapedial artery (Middle meningeal artery arising from the petrous internal carotid artery). There are 10 figures.
Arterial malformations in their purest form represent about 8% of all vascular malformations. They represent only arteries, without any venous, capillary, or lymphatic elements. These anomalies can present in various forms like aplasia, hypoplasia, or aneurysms. They can be totally asymptomatic or may present with various symptoms. Diagnosis of these anomalies can be made on the basis of history, clinical examination, and various investigations which include CT scan, MRI scan, and Doppler studies. The treatment of anomalies depends upon their type and presentation. They may require conservative treatment, planned treatment or a lifesaving emergency intervention. Knowledge of these anomalies is very important in order to timely diagnose and to able to provide appropriate treatment in time.
