Normal anatomic variants on transthoracic echocardiogram.
Apart from their existence as medical curiosities, anatomic variants also double as diagnostic dilemmas. In the heart, more than in any other location in the body, misinterpretation of normal anatomic variants as pathologic entities can have a profound impact on treatment decisions and clinical consequences. Echocardiography is an easily accessible tool these days and is used routinely in most cardiac evaluations. Thus it becomes imperative for the echocardiographer to be cognizant of normal anatomic variants. Furthermore, echocardiographic findings should always be evaluated in their proper clinical context and diagnoses should never be entertained in a clinical vacuum. The literature is replete with numerous case reports and vignettes on these fascinating structures but is lacking in a formal review of normal anatomic variants. In this article, we have attempted a systemic review of normal variants, their embryologic origins, echocardiographic characteristics, and common pitfalls encountered in their evaluation.
East Carolina Heart Institute, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27834, USA.
Anil
A
George
Anoop
A
Parameswaran
Raj
R
Nekkanti
Karen
K
Lurito
Assad
A
Movahed
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D004452:Echocardiography / Q000379:methods; D017548:Echocardiography, Transesophageal / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000145:classification* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D055815:Young Adult