title: Carotid rete mirabile presenting subarachnoid haemorrhage. Report Of two cases.
abstract: Carotid rete mirabile (CRM) consists of arterial channels between the internal and external carotid arteries in some lower mammals. It is a very rare pathological condition in humans. We report two patients who presented with clinical signs of subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH). Their sudden-onset SAH was thought to have been due to rupture of cerebral aneurysms, however, angiograms revealed an abnormal vascular network around the cavernous sinus. To our knowledge, 2 of 7 reported patients with CRM presented with SAH, however, only one of these patients had a probable cerebral aneurysm. We suggest that in patients with CRM, the rupture of anastomosing vessels be a probable cause of SAH.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Kumamoto University Medical School, Kumamoto, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kino
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Fuwa
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kitano
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kishida
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ushio
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002343:Carotid Artery, Internal / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D002426:Cavernous Sinus / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D002533:Cerebral Angiography; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D002538:Intracranial Arteriovenous Malformations / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013345:Subarachnoid Hemorrhage / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed