Clustered Origin of the Left Coronary Artery from the Left Sinus of Valsalva: Uncharacteristic Developmental Event in the Temporally Regulated Process

ABSTRACT

Coronary artery development is a sequential and progressively regulated process. However, there are a number of reports available on the disturbance to this temporal process resulting in variations of the artery. In these instances, the function of the coronary arteries was normal in providing blood supply to the heart. The normal and abnormal coronary artery development has been studied using a variety of approaches and the knowledge continues to evolve. The cadaveric specimen was obtained from the “willed body program” for the purpose of student dissection. During the cadaveric dissection of a 94-year old male Caucasian we observed that the left coronary artery arose from the coronary ostium in a cluster of multiple branches. A detailed study of the origin of the left coronary artery showed that there is one ostium from which multiple branches arose. The right coronary artery arose normally from the right coronary ostium. The coronary veins were normal and returned the blood through the coronary sinus to the right atrium. The anomalous finding is discussed in the light of what is already known about the normal coronary artery development and rationalize a possible explanation. We conclude that the abnormal development of the coronary artery is rarely detrimental and provides adequate blood circulation to the heart. However, knowledge of such malformation is important in clinical practice.