Persistent Sciatic artery.

ABSTRACT

Arteria comitans nervi ischiadici or Persistent sciatic artery (PSA) is a rare congenital vascular anomaly with an incidence varying 0.025-0.04% . During routine dissection in department of anatomy an incomplete type of Persistent sciatic artery was found which is being reported here. Its oncogeny and phylogeny is also discussed in detail. Such a PSA is prone to atheromatous degeneration, thrombosis, distal thromboembolism, aneurysm formation and rupture. Although rare, the possibility of such an anomaly must be borne in mind with certain clinical presentations , during orthopedic procedures on the hip and during angiographic studies of the leg. Successful surgical correction of problems necessitates excluding the anomalous artery from the circulation while revascularizing the lower exterimity.