Persistent trigeminal artery - anatomical features and clinical significance

Persistent trigeminal artery is the most common primitive carotid basilar anastomosis that persists in adulthood. The overall incidence of persistent trigeminal artery (PTA) is between 0.2 to 0.76%. PTAs are known to be associated with a wide range of pathology. The aim of this study was to describe the morphological characteristics of PTA and to emphasize its clinical significance. We examined radiographs from patients who had CT angiography undertaken for a variety of clinical reasons, performed as a part of their medical treatment at the University Institute of Radiology in Skopje, RN Macedonia. The study included 234 patients, 130 males and 104 females, with the mean age of 57.8 years. In one patient we found a PTA, with an overall incidence of 0.42%. CTA revealed a left PTA that arose from the internal carotid artery and communicated with the basilar artery between the origin of the anterior inferior cerebellar artery and the superior cerebellar artery. Besides the fact that brain arteries are of interest to the anatomists, awareness of their variations is clinically important for radiologists and surgeons for performing safe procedures, as well as for forensic pathologists since they may have forensic consequences