Abstract:

Objective　To explore the imaging characteristics of persistent carotid-basilar artery anastomoses in an effort to improve our understanding of this anomaly.　Methods　9 craniocervical CT angiography(CTA)，3 cranial and/or cervical MR angiography (MRA) in 12 patients of persistent carotid-basilar artery anastomoses were retrospectively reviewed.　Results　These 12 patients had 9 persistent trigeminal arteries and 3 persistent hypoglossal arteries. Based on the position of the persistent trigeminal artery, 8 patients were the lateral type, 1 was the medial type. According to the configuration of the ipsilateral posterior cerebral artery, 3 cases were Saltzman typeⅠpersistent trigeminal arteries，2 cases were Saltzman typeⅡ，4 were Saltzman type Ⅲ. The veretral artery and basilar artery caudal to the anastomosis with the trigeminal artery were hypoplastic in 4 cases. And 1 case showed the basilar artery completely artopied. 1 case associated with an aneurysm of the persistent trigeminal artery, 2 cases associated with fenestration of contralateral middle cerebral artery. 2 of 3 persistent hypoglossal arteries showed ipsilateral vertebral arteries completely artopied and 1 associated with hypoplasia of the contralateral vertebral artery, 1 associated with hypoplasia and fenestration of the contralateral vertebral artery.　Conclusions　CTA and MRA could rapid, intuitive, and accurate demonstrate the course of persistent carotid-basilar artery including the trigeminal and hypoglossal arteries, adjacent structure and the coexisting abnormalities. Diagnosis these variants prior to surgery and intervention may be helpful for procedures choice and decreasing the risk.

Key words: Persisting embryonic vessel, Persistent trigeminal artery, Persistent hypoglossal artery, Tomography, X-ray computed,  , Magnetic resonance imaging, Angiography