Dual origin of the left vertebral artery: Extracranial MRA and CTA findings

Tobin, W. Oliver; Killeen, Ronan; Kinsella, Justin A.; McCabe, Dominick J.H.

doi:10.1016/j.jns.2010.07.017

« Previous Next »Journal of the Neurological Sciences
Volume 298, Issue 1 , Pages 150-152, 15 November 2010

Dual origin of the left vertebral artery: Extracranial MRA and CTA findings

W. Oliver Tobin
- Department of Neurology, The Adelaide and Meath Hospital, Dublin, incorporating the National Children's Hospital, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
Ronan Killeen
- Department of Radiology, The Adelaide and Meath Hospital, Dublin, incorporating the National Children's Hospital, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
Justin A. Kinsella
- Department of Neurology, The Adelaide and Meath Hospital, Dublin, incorporating the National Children's Hospital, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
Dominick J.H. McCabe
- Department of Neurology, The Adelaide and Meath Hospital, Dublin, incorporating the National Children's Hospital, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Royal Free Campus, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, UK
- Corresponding author. Department of Neurology, The Adelaide and Meath Hospital, Dublin, incorporating the National Children's Hospital, Dublin, Ireland. Tel.: +353 1 4144217; fax: +353 1 4143031.

Received 11 May 2010; received in revised form 15 July 2010; accepted 21 July 2010. published online 01 September 2010.

Abstract

A 48-year-old man presented with a posterior circulation stroke secondary to left lateral medullary infarction. Contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography (CEMRA) revealed 40–45% intracranial left vertebral artery stenosis, likely atherosclerotic in nature. CEMRA and subsequent computed tomography angiography also identified a duplicate origin of the left vertebral artery. The importance of recognition of this rare anatomical variant, its potential contribution to stroke aetiology, and the advantage of non-invasive vascular imaging prior to catheter angiography is emphasised.

Keywords: Computed tomography, Magnetic resonance imaging, Vertebral artery stenosis, Dual origin