Double internal carotid origin of the ophthalmic artery with ruptured aneurysm of the posterior communicating artery. A case report

Abstract

We report a case of double origin of the ophthalmic artery from the carotid siphon. The persistence of the primitive dorsal ophthalmic artery, together with a ventral ophthalmic artery, constitutes the double origin of the ophthalmic artery. Remnant of intraorbital anastomoses formed by these two arteries is demonstrated. This represents a rare configuration of double origin of the arterial blood supply, which is discovered "incidentally" in a patient harboring a ruptured aneurysm of the posterior communicating artery. The embryology of the ophthalmic artery and a possible association between vascular anomaly and arterial aneurysm can be envisaged.

Figure 1

Anteroposterior (A) and lateral (B) views of the right internal carotid angiogram show an aneurysm arising at the junction of internal carotid and posterior communicating arteries. Two branches are arising from the supracavernous and intracavernous segments of right ICA respectively, coursing towards the orbital territory.

Figure 2

Control angiogram of the right internal carotid artery (A) shows the embolized aneurysm. Three dimensional reconstruction of rotational angiogram of the carotid siphon demonstrated the lateral (B), medial (C) and superior (D) aspects of the two ophthalmic arteries.