Clustered Origin Of Left Coronary Artery From The Left Sinus Of Valsalva: Uncharacteristic Developmental Event In The Temporally Regulated Process

ABSTRACT

Background: The coronary artery development is a sequential and progressively regulated process. However,there are number of reports available on the disturbance to this temporal process resulting in variations of theartery. In these instances, the function of the coronary arteries was normal in providing blood supply to theheart. The normal and abnormal coronary artery development has been studied using variety of approaches andthe knowledge continues to evolve.Materials and Methods: The cadaveric specimen was obtained from the “willed body program” for the purpose ofstudent dissection. We report here an anomaly found in a 94-year old Caucasian male died of cerebral arteryinfarction.Results and Observations We observed that the left coronary artery arose from the coronary ostium in a clusterof multiple branches. The right coronary artery arose normally from the right coronary ostium. Further dissectionshowed the co-dominant nature of the left and right coronary arteries in providing blood supply to the posterioraspect of the heart and the interventricular septum.Conclusions: Knowledge of coronary artery and its disposition is important in clinical practice especially incoronary artery stent placement, coronary artery bypass surgery and coronary sinus catheterization.