Aortic arch anomalies classifications

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

Associate Editor-In-Chief: Cafer Zorkun, M.D., Ph.D. [2] Keri Shafer, M.D. [3] Priyamvada Singh, MBBS [[4]]

Assistant Editor-In-Chief: Kristin Feeney, B.S. [[5]]

Overview

Classifications

There are three common classifications to the branching pattern: ^[1]

Normal (as below) – seen in ~ 70% of patients.
Bovine arch – common origin of brachiocephalic and left common carotid artery – seen in approximately 15% of patients (more common in blacks)
Left common carotid has its origin from the brachiocephalic artery proper, rather than from a common trunk – – seen in approximately 10% of patients (also more common in blacks)

There may be additional branches that arise directly from the arch. These include:

Thyroidea ima artery, usually between the brachiocephalic and left common carotid
Left vertebral artery, usually between the left common carotid and the left subclavian arteries.
Rarely the right subclavian and right common carotid arise independently.

Other major classifications:

References

↑ K.F. Layton “Bovine Aortic Arch Variant in Humans: Clarification of a Common Misnomer” AJNR 27: August 2006, 1541-42

Overview