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Absence of three regular thyroid arteries replaced by an unusual lowest thyroid artery (A. thyroidea ima): a case report

Absence de trois artères thyroïdiennes normales remplacées par une artère thyroïdienne moyenne de Neubauer (a. thyroidea ima): à propos d'un cas

  • Anatomic Variations
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Summary

During routine dissection of an 89-year-old female donor both inferior thyroid aa. as well as the left superior thyroid a. were found to be absent, whereas the right superior thyroid a. came from the right common carotid. A large lowest thyroid a. rose from the left internal thoracic a. at the level of the first intercostal space. Up to this point the internal thoracic a. was of immense diameter, almost reaching that of the lateral part of the subclavian. The lowest thyroid a. ascended in an oblique and sigmoid course to the thyroid gland. Slightly left of the median line it bifurcated into two branches. Both had a winding course in front of the trachea before entering the base of the thyroid gland. Other arterial variations of minor significance were also observed in this unique case. The clinical impact lies in the localisation, course and size of the lowest thyroid a. reported.

Résumé

Au cours d'une dissection d'un sujet féminin de 89 ans les deux aa. thyroïdiennes inférieures, comme l'a. thyroïdienne supérieure gauche, étaient absentes tandis que l'a. thyroïdienne supérieure droite provenait de la portion terminale de l'a. carotide commune droite. Une grosse a. thyroidea ima naissait de l'a. thoracique interne gauche à hauteur du premier espace intercostal. Au dessus de ce niveau l'a. thoracique interne était de diamètre volumineux, pratiquement égal à celui de la portion latérale de l'a. subclavière. L'a. thyroidea ima remontait selon un trajet oblique et sinueux jusqu'à la glande thyroïde. Légèrement à gauche de la ligne médiane elle se divisait en deux branches. Toutes deux avaient un trajet contournant la face ventrale de la trachée avant de pénétrer dans la glande thyroïde. D'autres variations artérielles de moindre importance étaient également retrouvées dans ce cas unique. L'intérêt clinique découle de la localisation, du trajet et de la taille de l'a. thyroidea ima rapportée.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomy, University of Innsbruck, Müllerstrasse 59, A-6010, Innsbruck, Austria

    B Moriggl & W Sturm

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  1. B Moriggl
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  2. W Sturm
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Moriggl, B., Sturm, W. Absence of three regular thyroid arteries replaced by an unusual lowest thyroid artery (A. thyroidea ima): a case report. Surg Radiol Anat 18, 147–150 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01795238

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01795238

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