Vertebral arteria lusoria-Hyrtl's original description (1859), case illustration, and literature analysis.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: A translation of the initial observation of vertebral arteria lusoria reported by Hyrtl in 1859 is followed by a review of all cases published until May 2023 to identify the anatomical and clinical features characterizing the typical form of this rare variant. METHODS: PubMed, Google Scholar, and Google queries were performed with "vertebral arteria lusoria", "retroesophageal vertebral artery", and "aberrant vertebral artery" as keywords (in English, German, and French). A feature was considered typical when present in at least 75% of analyzed cases. A case of incidentally discovered vertebral arteria lusoria illustrates the typical form of the variant. RESULTS: The analysis of 56 publications yielded 66 observations of right-sided vertebral arteria lusoria published between 1859 and May 2023. A small caliber, a retro-esophageal location, and passage through the foramen transversarium of C7 were typical. There was no evidence of association with clinical symptoms or other cardiovascular anomalies. CONCLUSION: A typical vertebral arteria lusoria is an incidentally discovered nondominant aberrant right VA originating from the proximal descending aorta and following a retro-esophageal course to enter the C7 foramen transversarium, without associated aortic arch branching anomalies or congenital cardiovascular pathologies.