Persistent bilateral sciatic artery: Report of a rare case

Abstract

The sciatic artery - a rare finding on autopsy - and continuation of the inferior gluteal artery has been reported previously. On a routine dissection, bilateral persistent sciatic arteries were found in both thighs of a female cadaver. This provided evidence that the sciatic artery follows the sciatic nerve, supplies the back of the thigh and finally joins the popliteal artery near the knee. The profunda femoris artery was completely absent bilaterally. The present report strengthens the view that the sciatic artery plays a major role in supplying blood to the lower limbs in utero and its existence after birth may have significant clinical importance.

Anatomic variability of branches of iliac and femoral arteries in human fetuses

“…The persistent sciatic artery that replaces the femoral artery is an anomaly difficult to diagnose, leading to ischemia of the lower extremity 7,[10][11][12][13] . The resources contain data of topographic variants of the accompanying artery of sciatic nerve [14][15][16][17] . Clinical observation of a patient with abnormal course of iliac and femoral arteries is reported by Tsygankov et al 13 .…”

Endovascular management of persistent sciatic artery occlusion

“…[1] When it persists as seen in around 0.05% individuals, which is extremely rare, it has a strong predilection for atherosclerosis leading to occlusion or aneurysmal changes. [234] When completely persistent, the sciatic artery becomes tortuous and enlarged, originating from the internal iliac artery and traversing through the greater sciatic foramen in close relation to the sciatic nerve.…”

Effectiveness of Exclusion of a Persistent Sciatic Artery Aneurysm with an Amplatzer™ Plug

“…he sciatic artery is an embryonic continuation of the internal iliac artery that provides the axial blood supply to the lower extremity. In approximately 0.025% to 0.04% of the population, the sciatic artery does not regress in utero and persists to be the major arterial supply to the lower extremity (1). A persistent sciatic artery (PSA) was fi rst described in 1832 (2), and the fi rst death caused by a ruptured sciatic artery aneurysm was reported in 1864 (3).…”