Cardiovascular Imaging - Pictorial Essay 2016

Congenital thoracic arterial anomalies in adults: a CT overview

10.4261/1305-3825.DIR.4645-11.1

  • Afra Yıldırım
  • Nevzat Karabulut
  • Serap Doğan
  • Duygu Herek

Received Date: 25.05.2011 Accepted Date: 04.08.2011 Diagn Interv Radiol 2011;17(4):352-362

Congenital thoracic arterial anomalies can be incidentally detected in adults from imaging studies performed for other indications. Multidetector computed tomography plays a critical role in the noninvasive assessment of these anomalies and associated cardiac, mediastinal, or parencyhmal changes by providing volumetric data. Radiologists should be familiar with imaging findings of these anomalies to avoid misinterpretation and to establish accurate diagnosis. In this article, we review the imaging characteristics of congenital aortic, pulmonary, and aortopulmonary anomalies with an emphasis on multidetector computed tomography findings. We illustrate the CT findings of congenital arterial anomalies such as double aortic arch, right aortic arch, aortic coarctation, pseudocoarctation, interrupted aortic arch, interruption (absence) of the pulmonary artery, pulmonary artery sling, pulmonary artery stenosis, transposition of great vessels, truncus arteriosus, aortopulmonary window, and patent ductus arteriosus.

Keywords: arteries , congenital abnormalities , adult , tomography , X-ray computed