Lecturer University of Cape Town University of Cape Town Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
Abstract Body : Introduction The main source of the orbital blood supply is by the ophthalmic artery (OA), the first branch of the internal carotid artery (ICA). Sometimes, the OA takes origin from the external carotid artery (ECA) and rarely from elsewhere other than the ICA and ECA. The origin of the OA takes place based on how the primitive embryological arterial system developed and involuted. Herein we report the findings of the OA taking origin from the anterior cerebral artery (ACA) segments. The exact segments of the ACA were noted, and the results were compared with those in published literature. Materials and methods A total of 923 angiograms of both male and female patients of various age groups who underwent several intracranial interventions were analysed retrospectively through the Picture Archiving Communications System (PACS) database in the Groote Schuur hospital and 870 were included in the study. The scans obtained were those between the years 2015 and 2020. The OA was studied from the point of origin in the side of the patient receiving treatment. The frequency of patterns was recorded. Results and discussion The OA was seen taking origin from the A1 (n=8; 0.14%) and A2 (n=4; 0.72 %) segments of the ACA in 12 individuals (2.13%), and none from the A3 segment. The five types showing the location of OA origin from the ACA segments were recorded and described. The results represent a rare anatomical variation and record the type of location of the OA origin from the A2 segment of the ACA which has never been recorded before in the published literature. These findings may well contribute to clinical application in radiology, while they will also add to the current existing body of anatomy knowledge and inform anatomy students studying the orbital blood supply. Ethical approval was granted for this study with reference number: HREC 469/2018.
