title: Middle meningeal artery arising from the basilar artery.
abstract: Various anomalies for the origin of the middle meningeal artery (MMA) have been described in the literature. However, origin of the MMA from the basilar trunk is an extremely rare variant. We report on a 54-year-old female who presented with frequent headaches; magnetic resonance imaging showed a right parietal meningioma. The abnormal origin of the middle meningeal artery from the basilar artery was diagnosed by angiography performed for preoperative embolization of the tumor. We report on the case with a review of the embryologic basis, possible explanations for this aberrant origin, and its clinical implications.
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States.
authors.forename: Mohamed M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Salem
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States.
authors.forename: Matthew R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Fusco
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States.
authors.forename: Parviz
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dolati
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States.
authors.forename: Arra S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Reddy
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States.
authors.forename: Bradley A
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-2599-5182
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Gross
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States.
authors.forename: Christopher S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Ogilvy
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States.
authors.forename: Ajith J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Thomas
keywords: Aberrant origin; Anatomic variation; Basilar artery; Embryology; Endovascular; Middle meningeal artery