title: The clinical anatomy of the coronary arteries.
abstract: There are a manifold number of variations and anomalies of the origin and course of coronary arteries described in the literature. The incidence of such variations in the general population is reported to range between 0.3 and 1.6 %. Although uncommon, they may be benign or produce symptoms ranging from mild dyspnea to sudden cardiac death, and have been associated with an increased risk of accelerated atherosclerosis and perfusion defects. Thus, in order to effectively utilize the increasing number of therapeutic options available for treating coronary artery diseases, an appreciation of the likely normal and variable arrangements of the coronary arteries is essential. This review will describe the normal anatomy of the coronary arteries as well as the common variations with potential clinical effects.
authors: Department of Anatomical Sciences, School of Medicine, St George's University, Grenada, West Indies. mloukas@sgu.edu
authors: Marios
authors: M
authors: Loukas
authors: Amit
authors: A
authors: Sharma
authors: Christa
authors: C
authors: Blaak
authors: Edward
authors: E
authors: Sorenson
authors: Asma
authors: A
authors: Mian
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003330:Coronary Vessel Anomalies / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000196:embryology; D006801:Humans; D009024:Morphogenesis; D011379:Prognosis; D009626:Terminology as Topic