Eur J Anat, 21 (2): 149-155 (2017)

Multiple thoracic bilateral intersegmental arterial trunks

Philippe Gailloud

Division of Interventional Neuroradiology, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, USA

ABSTRACT A bilateral intersegmental trunk is formed when a pair of left and right thoracic or lumbar intersegmental arteries share a common aortic origin. This rare variant â?? most frequently found at the low lumbar level â?? is exceptional in the thoracic region. We describe five angiographic observations of multiple thoracic bilateral intersegmental trunks (average 4.6 per patient, range 2 to 8, with a predominance between T6 and T8). The angiographic, comparative and developmental anatomy of thoracic BITs is discussed, as well as their clinical importance for angiographers and surgeons performing procedures that involve

Keywords: Anatomic Variation [G07.049] â?? Angiography [E01.370.350.700.060] â?? Aorta, Thoracic [A07.231.114.056.372] â?? Embryolog y [H01.158.273.200.350] â?? Spinal Cord [A08.186.854]