title: Persistent trigeminal artery/persistent trigeminal artery variant and coexisting variants of the head and neck vessels diagnosed using 3 T MRA.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To report the prevalence and characteristic features of persistent trigeminal artery (PTA), PTA variant (PTAV), and other variants of the head and neck vessels, identified using magnetic resonance angiography (MRA).
  
  
  METHODS
  The three-dimensional (3D) time of flight (TOF) MRA and 3D contrast-enhanced (CE) MRA images of 6095 consecutive patients who underwent 3 T MRA at Liaocheng People's Hospital from 1 September 2008 through 31 May 2012 were retrospectively reviewed and analysed. Thirty-two patients were excluded because of suboptimal image quality or internal carotid artery (ICA) occlusion.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of both PTA and PTAV was 0.63% (PTA, 26 cases; PTAV, 12 cases). The prevalence of coexisting variants of the head and neck vessels in cases of PTA/PTAV was 52.6% (20 of 38 cases). The vascular variants that coexisted with cases of PTA/PTAV were as follows: the intracranial arteries varied in 10 cases, the origin of the supra-aortic arteries varied in nine cases, the vertebral artery (VA) varied in 14 cases, and six cases displayed fenestrations. Fifteen of the 20 cases contained more than two types of variants.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prevalence of both PTA and PTAV was 0.63%. Although PTA and PTAV are rare vascular variants, they frequently coexist with other variants of the head and neck vessels. Multiple vascular variations can coexist in a single patient. Recognizing PTA, PTAV, and other variants of the head and neck vessels is crucial when planning a neuroradiological intervention or surgery. Recognizing the medial PTA is very important in clinical practice when performing trans-sphenoidal surgery on the pituitary as failure to do so could result in massive haemorrhage.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Liaocheng People's Hospital and Liaocheng Clinical School of Taishan Medical University, Liaocheng, Shandong, PR China. Electronic address: baimin11@163.com.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bai
authors.forename: Q
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001165:Arteriovenous Malformations / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003287:Contrast Media; D005260:Female; D006257:Head / Q000098:blood supply*; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods; D002538:Intracranial Arteriovenous Malformations / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009333:Neck / Q000098:blood supply*; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014711:Vertebral Artery / Q000473:pathology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media