Abstract:

Objective　 To evaluate the ability of three-dimensional time-resolved imaging of contrast kinetics (3D-Tricks) sequence for identifying the lingual artery with three-dimensional reformation technique.　Methods　Forty-three subjects without vascular disease of brain and neck (including 28 patients with suspected vertebrobasilar insufficiency and 15 patients who excluded metastatic brain tumor) underwent 3.0T MR scans using a 3D-Tricks sequence. Morphologic features of lingual artery were evaluated using the volume rendering (VR), multi-planar reformat (MPR) and maximum intensity projection (MIP) techniques. The distances of the origin of lingual artery from both the segment of the greater horn of hyoid bone and bifurcation of common carotid artery were measured.　Results　86 lingual arteries were clearly displayed in forty-three subjects. The 58 lingual arteries directly originated from external carotid artery. 27 lingual arteries originated from the facial artery and only one arised from superior thyroid artery. The position between the lingual artery segment in the greater horn of hyoid bone and the greater horn of hyoid bone were relatively constant. 45 lingual arteries located in the superior to bifurcation of common carotid artery. 9 arteries ran forward in parallel with bifurcation of common carotid artery. 32 arteries located in the inferior to bifurcation of common carotid artery. The inner diameters of lingual artery from the origin of lingual artery were (2.88±0.46) mm. The distances of lingual artery from the bifurcation of common carotid artery to the segment of the greater horn of hyoid bone were (1.33±0.62) cm, (1.28±0.61) cm, respectively.　Conclusions　3D-Tricks can clearly visualize the morphologic features of the lingual artery in vivo, which is a helpful instruction for clinical application.

Key words: Magnetic resonance angiography (MRA, Three-dimensional time-resolved imaging of contrast kinetics (3D-Tricks), Lingual artery (LA), Anatomy