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Considerations on the morphology of the thyroid ima artery

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Abstract

Purpose and background

Detailed knowledge of the thyroid ima artery is essential for surgeons consequently we conducted an analysis investigating the arterial vasculature of the thyroid gland in 290 cases by dissection of formalin-fixed cadavers and by studying computed tomography angiographies.

Methods

Our study was conducted on 82 cases obtained from the dissection of formalin-fixed cadavers while 208 cases were computed tomography angiographies. The following aspects were observed: the frequency of the thyroid ima artery, its origin, course, and diameter. All were studied, comparing right to left and according to sex.

Results

Following the study of thyroid gland vasculature on a number of 290 cases, the thyroid ima artery was discovered in 16 cases (5.52% of cases), from which 3.45% of cases were in male subjects, and 2.07% of cases in female subjects. Of these, 4.14% of the total cases were left thyroid ima artery, and 1.38% of cases were on the right, found only in female subjects. In 5.17% of the total cases, the thyroid ima artery originated from the aortic arch, of which 3.45% were in the male sex and 1.72% were in the female sex. In one case only (0.35%) in the female sex did the thyroid ima artery originate from the brachiocephalic trunk. In 2.76% of cases, the thyroid ima artery existed with a left-sided inferior thyroid artery originating from the subclavian artery, either directly or from a thyrocervical trunk.

Conclusions

The thyroid ima artery has proven to be one of the highly variable arteries in terms of its presence and origin and the knowledge surrounding it is useful for surgical interventions.

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Data availability

The data presented in this study are available upon reasonable request to the corresponding author.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. “Ovidius” University, Constanţa, Romania

    Maria Cristina Bunea, Lavinia Maria Rusali, Iulian Cătălin Bratu & Petru Bordei

  2. “Titu Maiorescu” University, Bucharest, Romania

    Sorin Ioan Tudorache

Authors
  1. Maria Cristina Bunea
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  2. Lavinia Maria Rusali
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  3. Sorin Ioan Tudorache
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  4. Iulian Cătălin Bratu
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  5. Petru Bordei
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Contributions

M-CB, PB: Protocol/project development; M-CB, I-CB, PB: Data collection or management; M-CB, TS, L-MR, PB: Data analysis; M-CB: Manuscript writing/editing; All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Maria Cristina Bunea.

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Ethical approval

The study has the accord of the local Ethics Commission (34490 / 08.08.2019) within the institution of "Sf. Apostol Andrei" Clinical County Emergency Hospital from Constanța and respects the principles of the General Regulation on Personal Data Protection (EU) 679/2016. The research was conducted in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration and in compliance with all relevant national regulations regarding patient studies. Also, informed consent was obtained from the patients.

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Bunea, M.C., Rusali, L.M., Tudorache, S.I. et al. Considerations on the morphology of the thyroid ima artery. Surg Radiol Anat 46, 91–99 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-023-03268-8

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