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Published in: Surgical and Radiologic Anatomy 6/2011

01-08-2011 | Anatomic Variations

Persistent hypoglossal artery arising from the external carotid artery diagnosed by MR angiography

Authors: Akira Uchino, Naoko Saito

Published in: Surgical and Radiologic Anatomy | Issue 6/2011

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Abstract

Purpose

Extremely rarely, a persistent hypoglossal artery arises from the external carotid artery; only three cases have been reported in the English-language literature. The purpose of this paper is to report a case of this variation diagnosed by magnetic resonance (MR) angiography.

Methods

A 75-year-old man with sudden-onset right hemiparesis and dysarthria underwent emergency cerebral MR imaging and cerebral MR angiography that included the cervical carotid bifurcation. A 1.5-T scanner was used and MR angiographic images were obtained using the standard three-dimensional time-of-flight technique.

Results

On MR angiography, an anomalous artery arose from the proximal right external carotid artery, ascended just like the ascending pharyngeal artery, entered the hypoglossal canal (anterior condyloid foramen), and finally connected with the terminal segment of the right vertebral artery (VA). The proximal right VA was not visible, probably due to hypoplasia.

Conclusion

We present the first case of this anomaly diagnosed using MR angiography, and we propose the term “type 2 persistent hypoglossal artery” to describe this condition.
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Metadata
Title
Persistent hypoglossal artery arising from the external carotid artery diagnosed by MR angiography
Authors
Akira Uchino
Naoko Saito
Publication date
01-08-2011
Publisher
Springer-Verlag
Published in
Surgical and Radiologic Anatomy / Issue 6/2011
Print ISSN: 0930-1038
Electronic ISSN: 1279-8517
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-010-0769-3

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