Double Ophthalmic Arteries Arising from the Internal Carotid Artery and the Accessory Meningeal Artery: A Case Report of a New Anatomic Variation.

Abstract

Variant origin of the ophthalmic artery (OA) is uncommon. The majority of variant origins are from the middle meningeal artery and from the infraclinoid segment of the internal carotid artery. An OA arising from the accessory meningeal artery is an extremely rare vascular variation that has not been described previously in the English literature. We report the first case of double origin of the OA from the supraclinoid segment of the internal carotid artery and from the accessory meningeal artery branch of the maxillary artery. A 33-year-old woman was referred to our clinic with suspicion of a middle cerebral artery aneurysm. She had nonspecific neurologic symptoms. The patient underwent cerebral magnetic resonance imaging and magnetic resonance angiography. Being aware of variant origin of the OA from the accessory meningeal artery is very important for transarterial chemoembolization in the external carotid artery territory. Reconstructed images from magnetic resonance angiography are very useful to reveal the variant origin of the OA.