Anatomical Variability in the Termination of the Basilar Artery in the Human Cadaveric Brain
Sandhya GUNNAL, Mujeebuddin FAROOQUI, Rajendra WABALE
Rural Medical College, Department of Anatomy, Post. Loni, Tal. Rahata, Dist. Ahmednagar, Maharashtra, India
DOI :
10.5137/1019-5149.JTN.12812-14.0
Aim: The basilar artery (BA) is the prominent median vessel of the vertebrobasilar circulation and usually terminates into two posterior
cerebral arteries forming the posterior angle of the Circle of Willis (CW). To tackle different variations of CW, basilar artery acts as a guideline for
neuroradiologists and neurosurgeons. Basilar termination is the most frequent site of aneurysm. Abnormalities at the site of termination may
compress the oculomotor nerve. Variations at the termination may complicate surgeries at the base of brain. The present study aims to add to
the knowledge regarding the termination pattern of the BA.
Material and Methods: 170 BA terminations were studied. Morphological variations in the termination pattern were noted. Frequency of
variations in termination patterns was recorded. Dimensions of BA were measured. Data were analyzed.
Results: Morphological variations in termination were seen in 17.64%. Bifurcation, Trifurcation, Quadrifurcation, Pentafurcation and
Nonfurcation of BA was seen in 82.35%, 5.29%, 5.88%, 3.52% and 2.94% respectively. BA associated with aneurysm and Fenestration was seen
in 3.52% and 1.17% respectively. Mean length and diameter of BA was 30.27 mm and 4.8 mm respectively.
Conclusion: Awareness of these anatomical variations in termination patterns of BA is important in neurovascular procedures.
Keywords :
Basilar artery, Bifurcation, Trifurcation, Pentafurcation, Variation, Brain, Anatomy
