Magnetic Resonance Angiography and CT Angiography of Persistent Primitive Olfactory Artery: Incidence and Association Rate with Aneurysm in Korea

Copyrights © 2012 The Korean Society of Radiology Purpose: Japanese data indicates an incidence of persistent primitive olfactory artery (PPOA) of 0.14%. We studied the incidence of PPOA and associated cerebral vascular variation or anomalies in Korea. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed cranial magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) and computed tomography angiography (CTA) images of a total of 9841 patients of our institution. The diagnostic criterion of PPOA is extreme anterioinferior course of the proximal anterior cerebral artery, with a hairpin turn of the lateral projection. Results: We found 29 cases (0.29%) with PPOA. The PPOA location was on the left in 19 cases, bilateral in 3 cases, and on the right in 7 cases. An aneurysm was found at the hairpin turn in 2 patients. There were aneurysms in other sites in 3 cases. There were hypoplasia of anterior cerebral artery in 3 cases, and fenestration of intracranial artery in 1 case. Conclusion: In Korean populations, the incidence of PPOA found in MRA and CTA was twice as high as that shown in the previous Japanese data. Within Korea, left side laterality is more common than right side or bilalterality. Aneurysmal dilatations at the hairpin turning point and aneurysms at other sites were found, and other vascular variations were observed in several cases. Index terms Persistent Primitive Olfactory Artery Aneurysm Angiography Magnetic Resonance Angiography and CT Angiography of Persistent Primitive Olfactory Artery: Incidence and Association Rate with Aneurysm in Korea 잔류 원시 후각동맥의 자기공명 및 전산화단층촬영 혈관조영술 소견: 한국인에서의 빈도와 동맥류와의 연관성