Bovine Arch and Stroke Laterality.

Background Left-hemispheric strokes are more frequent and often have a worse outcome than their right-hemispheric counterparts. This study aimed to evaluate whether cardioembolic stroke laterality is affected by anatomical characteristics of the aortic arch. We hypothesized that laterality varies between patients with bovine versus standard arch. Methods and Results We retrospectively identified 1598 acute cardioembolic strokes in patients with atrial fibrillation from our institutional stroke database (2009-2017). Inclusion criteria were acute anterior circulation ischemic infarct and availability of both arch and brain imaging (magnetic resonance imaging or computed tomography). Alternative causes of stroke and anomalous arch were excluded. Imaging was reviewed for stroke characterization and laterality and arch branching pattern. Bovine arch denotes a common origin of the brachiocephalic trunk and left common carotid artery. Strokes were classified as bilateral (left or right). Univariate analysis was performed using chi-square tests. The final cohort comprised 615 patients, mean age 77 years (SD 11.8 years) with 376 women (61%) and 33% white, 30% black, and the remainder mixed/Hispanic. Standard arch (n=424) stroke distribution was left 43.6% (185), right 45.1% (191), and bilateral 11.3% (48). Bovine arch (n=191) stroke distribution was left 51.3% (98), right 35.6% (68), and bilateral 13.1% (25). Bovine arches were associated with more left-sided strokes compared with standard arches (P=0.018). There was an association between black race and bovine arch (P=0.0001). Conclusions Bovine aortic arch configuration is associated with left hemispheric laterality of cardioembolic stroke. This study enriches the understanding that arch anatomy influences stroke laterality and highlights the need for further research into the causative hemodynamic factors.

Axillobifemoral bypass: a brief surgical and historical review.

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) occurs when plaque accumulates in the arterial system and obstructs blood flow. Narrowing of the abdominal aorta and the common iliac arteries due to atherosclerotic plaques restricts blood supply to the lower limbs. Clinically, the lower limb symptoms of PAD are intermittent claudication, discoloration of the toes, and skin ulcers, all due to arterial insufficiency. Surgical revascularization is the primary mode of treatment for patients with severe limb ischemia. The objective of the surgical procedure is to bypass a blockage in an occluded major vessel by constructing an alternate route for blood flow using an artificial graft. This article presents information on aortoiliac reconstruction, with an emphasis on axillobifemoral bypass grafting.

Axillobifemoral Bypass Graft: A Student Dissection Experience.

As first-year medical students, we were excited, but nervous, to start the anatomy course. We were prepared to dedicate ourselves to the physical demands of dissection, and the hours of memorizing names and relations of countless anatomic features. We expected to leave the anatomy course with a comprehensive understanding of the human body that we would apply to our future studies and careers. We were not prepared, however, for the experience we had with our cadaver, Lucy.* Lucy was a small woman, but as we learned, she had endured a lot, physically and medically, in her 83 years of life. She had a pacemaker. She had coronary artery disease and a triple bypass procedure. She also had severe peripheral artery disease and had undergone at least one extraordinary surgical graft procedure to maintain blood flow into her lower extremities. The surprise of discovering a small piece of an axillobifemoral bypass graft and then continuing to uncover it, region by region, throughout the anatomy course, brought our dissection experience and our connection to Lucy to a more profound level than we could ever have anticipated. *The name Lucy was chosen as a pseudonym to protect the identity of the cadaver.