title: Vertebral arteria lusoria: a life-threatening condition for oesophageal surgery.
abstract: A rare anatomic variant of the right vertebral artery is reported as an incidental finding in a 78-year-old female patient. The vessel originated from the aortic arch distal to the origin of the left subclavian artery and presented an unusual retroesophageal course, thus was named "vertebral arteria lusoria". As multi-detector row computed tomography examination is now widely used, this anatomical variant should be considered in any patient undergoing esophageal surgery. Misdiagnosis of such an aberrant vertebral artery may cause life-threatening issues.
authors: Centre d'imagerie Médicale, 47, Boulevard du Pont Rouge, 15000 Aurillac, France. lacout.alexis@wanadoo.fr
authors: Alexis
authors: A
authors: Lacout
authors: Antoine
authors: A
authors: Khalil
authors: Andrea
authors: A
authors: Figl
authors: Richard
authors: R
authors: Liloku
authors: Pierre-Yves
authors: PY
authors: Marcy
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003287:Contrast Media; D004947:Esophagus / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D033162:Incidental Findings; D061330:Multidetector Computed Tomography; D014711:Vertebral Artery / Q000002:abnormalities*
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media