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Carotid and vertebrobasilar rete mirabile: a case report

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Abstract

Bilateral symmetrical absence of the cavernous segments of the internal carotid artery (ICA) and absence of proximal basilar artery with a compensating arterial network (rete mirabile) is quite rare. Although it is found in some lower mammals as a physiological network supplying the circle of Willis, it is associated with ICA hypoplasia or nonpersistence in humans. We present a case of both cavernous ICA and proximal part of basilar artery absence associated with rete formation, which was an incidental finding during cerebral angiography in a 32-year-old woman with a complaint of left maxillary sinus mass.

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Correspondence to Hilal Şahin.

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Şahin, H., Çınar, C. & Oran, I. Carotid and vertebrobasilar rete mirabile: a case report. Surg Radiol Anat 32, 95–98 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-009-0531-x

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