The internal thoracic artery (ITA) is the largest artery of the thoracic wall. ITA has become a conduit of choice for coronary artery bypass graft surgery because of its predictable intrathoracic course, anatomical proximity to the heart and excellent long-term patency. The rare and unexpected occurrence of anomalies of the internal thoracic artery such as the one reported here may complicate the entire procedure of revascularization of the myocardium. We conclude that knowledge of variation of internal thoracic artery is necessary during surgical procedures that involve thoracic region.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jbs.v2i1.13032Journal of Biomedical Sciences 2015 Mar.; 2(1): 7-9

In human beings the most common branching pattern of the aortic arch was its division into three great vessels ie the brachiocephalic trunk, left common carotid artery and the subclavian artery. The vertebral arteries arise from the superior aspect of the first part of the subclavian artery. In present case, a left vertebral artery arose from the aortic arch as fourth branch was found. The diameter of left vertebral artery at its origin was 6 mm as compared to the right vertebral artery, which has diameter of 3.5 mm at its origin. In this case left sixth dorsal intersegmental artery might have persisted as first part of vertebral artery hence left vertebral artery arising from arch of aorta. Knowledge of the variations in branching pattern of the aortic arch is important in the diagnosis of intracranial aneurysm after subarachnoid haemorrhage.J. Biomed. Sci. 2015, 2(3):21-23.