title: Observation of root variations in human coronary arteries.
abstract: In dissection courses conducted from 1999 through to 2003, five specimens were found to have coronary arteries with variant roots and branches, as follows: in specimens 1-4, roots of the right coronary artery (RCA) and right conus branch arose independently from the right aortic sinus (RAS); in specimen 5, the RCA and left coronary artery (LCA) originated from the RAS. The LCA pierced the upper part of the muscular interventricular septum and appeared on the surface, then dividing into the anterior interventricular and the circumflex branches. In the present study, we considered that the right conus arteries in specimens 1-4 were the remnant blood capillaries around the aorta towards the RAS in the embryonic stage. In specimen 5, the vessel near the left aortic sinus was poorly developed as a small thin artery. Instead, the LCA was developed from the anterior and posterior interventricular septal branches.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Akita University School of Medicine, Akita, Japan. ishizawa@med.akita-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Akimitsu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ishizawa
authors.forename: Osamu
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Abe
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001158:Arteries / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged