What is it about?
Magnetic Resonance Angiographic Study of Anatomic Variations of the Circle of Willis.
Featured Image
Photo by Maria Teneva on Unsplash
Why is it important?
Background and Objectives: The circle of Willis, an anastomotic polygon at the base of the brain, forms an important collateral network to maintain cerebral blood perfusion. The aim of this study was to investigate different anatomic variations of the circle of Willis and their prevalence. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 500 healthy participants including 200 men and 300 women. The mean age of the patients was 50 years. Three-dimensional time-of-flight magnetic resonance angiography (3D-TOF MRA) technique was used. Vascular variations in the anterior and posterior parts of the circle were evaluated. Results: The findings show that the complete circle of Willis was visible in a small number of patients. The circle of Willis had a complete vascular structure in 22% of the patients. The anterior part of the circle of Willis had a complete structure in 73% of the cases, while the posterior part had a complete structure in 18% of the cases. Conclusion: We observed wide variations in the circle of Willis configuration in our study. Similar to other studies, most variations are related to the posterior part of the circle of Willis. Absence of bilateral posterior communicating artery variation is more common than other types of variations in this population.
Perspectives
Background and Objectives: The circle of Willis, an anastomotic polygon at the base of the brain, forms an important collateral network to maintain cerebral blood perfusion. The aim of this study was to investigate different anatomic variations of the circle of Willis and their prevalence. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 500 healthy participants including 200 men and 300 women. The mean age of the patients was 50 years. Three-dimensional time-of-flight magnetic resonance angiography (3D-TOF MRA) technique was used. Vascular variations in the anterior and posterior parts of the circle were evaluated. Results: The findings show that the complete circle of Willis was visible in a small number of patients. The circle of Willis had a complete vascular structure in 22% of the patients. The anterior part of the circle of Willis had a complete structure in 73% of the cases, while the posterior part had a complete structure in 18% of the cases. Conclusion: We observed wide variations in the circle of Willis configuration in our study. Similar to other studies, most variations are related to the posterior part of the circle of Willis. Absence of bilateral posterior communicating artery variation is more common than other types of variations in this population.
Red Flower Publication Publications
Red Flower Publication Pvt Ltd
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Magnetic Resonance Angiographic Study of Anatomic Variations of the Circle of Willis in Marathwada Population, Indian Journal of Anatomy, January 2018, Red Flower Publication Private, Ltd.,
DOI: 10.21088/ija.2320.0022.7218.14.
You can read the full text:
Contributors
The following have contributed to this page
