title: Anatomical Variations in Aortic Arch Branching Pattern.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The branch anatomy of the aortic arch varies widely between individuals. These are likely due to alterations in the development of aortic arch arteries during the embryonic period. The purpose of this study is to determine the frequency of the aortic arch branch variations in the local population and provide useful data to intervention radiologists, neck and thoracic surgeons.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this study, branching pattern of the aortic arch in 226 patients was retrospectively evaluated by MR angiography. MRA performed on a high field 3 Tesla MRI scanner using 3D flash sequence.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The normal aortic arch branching pattern was observed in 192 patients (84.9%). Also, three variations of the aortic arch branching pattern were observed. The aortic arch in 12.4% of the patients had two arterial branches. In 0.9% of cases, the left vertebral artery originated directly from the aortic arch. In 1.8% of cases, the right subclavian artery originated as the fourth aortic arch branch.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although the number of cases with aortic arch branches variation in our study is similar to other studies, the Bovine aortic arch variation is more common than other variations of aortic arch branches.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomical Sciences, School of Medical Sciences, Baqiyatallah University, Tehran, Iran. Bahmanjalali2010@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Bahman
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Jalali Kondori
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomical Sciences, School of Medical Sciences, Baqiyatallah University, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Hossein
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Asadi
authors.affiliation: Andisheh Badie Rayan Institute, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Elham
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rahimian
authors.affiliation: Andisheh Badie Rayan Institute, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Majid-Reza
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Tahsini
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000818:Animals; D001013:Aorta, Thoracic / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D002417:Cattle; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007492:Iran; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D054079:Vascular Malformations / Q000175:diagnosis; D055815:Young Adult