The discovery of the circle of Willis as a result of using the scientific method in anatomical dissection

Dumitrescu, Ana María; Costea, Claudia Florida; Cucu, Andrei; Dumitrescu, Gabriela; Turliuc, Mihaela Dana; Scripcariu, Dragoş Viorel; Ciocoiu, Manuela; Turliuc, Şerban; Bogdănici, Camelia Margareta; Nicoară, Simona Delia; Cărăuleanu, Alexandru; Schmitzer, Speranţa; Sava, Anca

doi:10.47162/rjme.61.3.38

Cited by 9 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…The circle, or polygon, of Willis (cW) is one of the most famous eponymous structures in human anatomy [ 1 ]. Anatomic variations in the cerebral arterial circle of Willis are the rule, not the exception [ 2 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Fetal Type of Posterior Cerebral Artery

et al. 2023

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Background and Objectives: Anatomical variations of the arterial circle of Willis (cW) are common. A posterior cerebral artery (PCA) fed mostly or exclusively from the internal carotid artery is a fetal PCA (FPCA), partial (p-FPCA), or full/complete (f-FPCA), respectively. Because FPCA occurs in different anatomical configurations of the cW sides, we aimed to document in detail these morphological possibilities of FPCA within the cW. Materials and Methods: FPCAs were documented on a retrospective set of 139 computed tomography angiograms. Results: FPCAs were found in thirteen cases, nine males and four females. In 7/13 cases there were two modified sides of the cW. In 5/13 cases there were three altered sides of the cW. Another case with FPCA showed four altered sides of the cW. In 10/13 cases, FPCA was unilateral and in the other three cases it was bilateral. Compared to the overall group, unilateral p-FPCAs were found in 1.43%, while unilateral f-FPCAs were found in 5.75%. A bilateral p-FPCA-f-FPCA combination was found in 0.71% and a bilateral f-FPCA-f-FPCA combination occurred in 1.43%. An anatomically isolated ICA was found in just one case with bilateral f-FPCA (0.71%). In 7/13 FPCA cases there were arterial variants exclusively in the posterior cW. In the other 6/13 FPCA cases, there were variants in both anterior and posterior circulation. There were no statistically significant associations of FPCA with sex or age. The higher prevalence of right-sided FPCA was not statistically significant. Conclusions: Anatomical assessments of cW should be performed on a case-by-case basis, as they may correspond to different cW morphologies.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Fetal Type of Posterior Cerebral Artery

et al. 2023

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“…Anatomical variants of CoW have been identified since the 16th century by famous anatomist Andreas Vesalius (1514–1564). He was the first one who described the anatomical variants of the arterial circle from the base of the human brain and even illustrated the morphological aspects of two variants: the absence of AComA and duplication of the ICA [ 2 ]. Three centuries later, as brain research gained momentum, the Irish physician Richard Quain (1816–1898), analyzing 1040 autopsied brains, published, in 1844, a case showing PCA originating in the ICA [ 21 ], due to failure to take its normal post-fetal origin from the BA, a variant called fPCA, which is a common variant of the cerebral circulation, being seen in 20% of cases.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Even though many attempts were made along the time to understand the morphology and function of the arterial structure lying at the base of the brain, only Thomas Willis (1621-1675) was the first anatomist who correctly described it in 1664 [1]. In his book, "Cerebri Anatome: cui accessit nervorum descriptio et usus", the author presented it as an arterial symmetrical anastomotic anatomical structure and since then, in honor of him and his discovery, the circulus arteriosus cerebri has been called the circle of Willis (CoW) [2].…”

Section:  Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Even though many attempts were made along the time to understand the morphology and function of the arterial structure lying at the base of the brain, only Thomas Willis (1621–1675) was the first anatomist who correctly described it in 1664 [ 1 ]. In his book, “Cerebri Anatome: cui accessit nervorum descriptio et usus”, the author presented it as an arterial symmetrical anastomotic anatomical structure and since then, in honor of him and his discovery, the circulus arteriosus cerebri has been called the circle of Willis (CoW) [ 2 ]. In the last two decades, many authors analyzed and reported not only various anatomical variants of the component arteries of this arterial intracranial anastomosis, but they also identified the fact that more than half of all circles of Willis they have studied presented significant anatomical changes compared to the classical version, from which it departs more or less [ 3 , 4 , 5 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Anatomical study of circle of Willis on fresh autopsied brains. A study of a Romanian population

Dumitrescu

Eva²,

Haba³

et al. 2022

Rom J Morphol Embryol

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Because the circle of Willis (CoW) supplies blood to the brain in case of occlusion of one of the cerebral arteries, identification of any change in its classical shape could be useful in the assessment of cerebrovascular morbidity. The purpose of our research was to study the anatomical variants of CoW identified on fresh brains obtained at the clinical autopsies of adult deceased patients belonging to a specific population (Northeastern region of Romania), as no data are available for Romania population up to date. The study group included consecutive patients who died in Prof. Dr. Nicolae Oblu Emergency Clinical Hospital, Iaşi, Romania, due to medical causes between January 1, 2014 and June 30, 2016, to whom a clinical autopsy was performed. From a total of 96 circles of Willis, 29.17% presented an atypical morphology. We identified eight types of anatomical variants, which affected simultaneously both the posterior and the anterior parts of CoW in 46.42% of cases. The most frequent anatomical variants were hypoplasia (20.91%), followed by the absence of an artery (3.06%), and partially fetal type artery (2.04%). 67.86% of atypical CoW exhibited more than one anatomical variant of an artery in one circle. We identified nine of the 23 morphological patterns that were published to date, and also nine new types. Our research proved that in the population living in the Northeastern part of Romania the anatomical variations of circles of Willis are very polymorphic, with particular morphological aspects.

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“…The PComA unites the ICA and the PCA. The arterial circle of Willis is one of the most famous eponymous structures in human anatomy [ 3 ]. Anatomic variations in the circle of Willis are the rule, not the exception [ 1 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Infraoptic or Infrachiasmatic Course of the Anterior Cerebral Artery Emerging an Elongated Internal Carotid Artery

et al. 2022

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(1) Background: The normal A1 segment of the anterior cerebral artery (ACA) has a supraoptic course. The proximal infraoptic course of an A1 segment leaving the internal carotid artery (ICA) near the origin of the ophthalmic artery is a rare possibility. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and detailed anatomy of infraoptic A1 segments. (2) Methods: We retrospectively studied 145 computed tomography angiograms from 92 male and 53 female cases, with ages varying from 61 to 78 y.o. (3) Results: In 21/145 cases, infraoptic or infrachiasmatic horizontal-medial courses of A1 segments that emerged distally from the ICA were found. Distal infraoptic A1 segments were bilateral in 16/145 cases and unilateral in 3/145 cases. Infrachiasmatic A1 segments were found bilaterally in 2/145 male cases. All the infraoptic/infrachiasmatic A1 segments left long ICAs with low bifurcations. In 7/34 sides with distal infraoptic or infrachiasmatic A1 segments, supracarotid courses were present. In one female, the right A1 segment had an anterior supraclinoid, supracarotid and infraoptic course. In two female cases with a bilateral distal infraoptic A1, the segment was almost contacting the respective posterior cerebral artery. (4) Conclusions: In cases with dolicho(ectatic) ICAs, the A1 segments could have infraoptic and supracarotid courses the neurosurgeons should be aware of.

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The discovery of the circle of Willis as a result of using the scientific method in anatomical dissection

Cited by 9 publications

References 7 publications

The Fetal Type of Posterior Cerebral Artery

The Fetal Type of Posterior Cerebral Artery

Anatomical study of circle of Willis on fresh autopsied brains. A study of a Romanian population

The Infraoptic or Infrachiasmatic Course of the Anterior Cerebral Artery Emerging an Elongated Internal Carotid Artery

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