Variations Involving The Distal Vertebral Artery

Objectives: To investigate the variations in distal VA, from the viewpoint of angiography and microsurgical anatomy. Methods: Variations involving the distal VA in digital subtraction angiography (DSA) were reported together with findings during cadaver study. Results: Twenty-two variations were found in 21 patients, including 8 C-2 vertebral origins of the PICA, 10 duplicated (from 9 patients) and 4 aberrant distal VAs, respectively. Another aberrant distal VA was observed in one cadaver specimen. All the variants involved only the part of lateral spinal artery (LSA). Two aberrant distal VAs were indicated by DSA and another one was verified by anatomical study as extradural location, respectively. Conclusions: Variants of distal VA included the C-2 vertebral origin of the PICA, duplicated and aberrant distal VA.