title: Variants of the popliteal artery terminal branches as detected by multidetector ct angiography.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate variants of the popliteal artery (PA) terminal branches with 64-multidetector computed tomographic angiography (64-MD CTA).
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 495 extremities (251 right, 244 left) of 253 patients undergoing a 64-MD CTA examination were included in the study. Of these, 242 extremities were evaluated bilaterally, whereas 11 were evaluated unilaterally. The terminal branching pattern of the PA was classified according to the classification scheme proposed by Kim; the distance between the medial tibial plateau and the origin of the anterior tibial artery (A) and the length of the tibioperoneal trunk (B) have been measured and recorded.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In 459 cases (92.7%) branching of PA occurred distal to the knee joint (Type I); in 18 cases (2.8%) PA branching was superior to the knee joint (Type II); and hypoplasia of the PA branches was found in 27 cases (5.5%) (Type III). Among these types the most frequent branching patterns were Type IA (87.5%), Type IIIA (3.9%), and Type IB (3.8%). The ranges of A and B mean distances were 47.6 mm and 29.6 mm, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Variations in popliteal artery terminal branching pattern occurred in 7.4% to 17.6% of patients. Pre-surgical detection of these variations with MD CTA may help to reduce the risk of iatrogenic arterial injury by enabling a better surgical treatment plan.
authors.affiliation: Ankara Training and Research Hospital Radiology Department, Ankara, Turkey , Department of Radiology, Ankara Training and Research Hospital (SB Ankara Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi), Şükriye Mh. Ulucanlar Cd. No:89, 06340 Cebeci/ Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Pelin Seher
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Oztekin
authors.affiliation: Ankara Training and Research Hospital Radiology Department, Turkey.
authors.forename: Elif
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ergun
authors.affiliation: Ankara Training and Research Hospital Radiology Department, Turkey.
authors.forename: Esra
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cıvgın
authors.affiliation: Ankara Training and Research Hospital Radiology Department, Turkey.
authors.forename: Hasan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yigit
authors.affiliation: Ankara Training and Research Hospital Radiology Department, Turkey.
authors.forename: Pınar Nercis
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Kosar
keywords: Popliteal artery; branching patterns; multidetector CT angiography; vascular variations