Anomalous Origins of the Left Vertebral and Left Gastric Arteries in the Same Cadaver: Case Report.

Variations in the aortic arch and abdominal aorta possess important clinical implications that are frequently overlooked or underestimated, often being identified incidentally during surgical interventions or post-mortem examinations. This case report describes the rare concurrent occurrence of two such anomalies: an aberrant origin of the left vertebral artery and an anomalous origin of the left gastric artery. These findings were made during routine anatomical dissection of a 77-year-old white female cadaver at the Clinical Anatomy Laboratory of Sam Houston State University College of Osteopathic Medicine. The donor's cause of death was reported as metastatic bone cancer. The aberrant left vertebral artery was observed arising directly from the aortic arch, positioned between the left common carotid and left subclavian arteries. The anomalous left gastric artery originated directly from the abdominal aorta, forming a separate trunk lateral to the celiac trunk, rather than branching from it. Furthermore, the right and left inferior phrenic arteries were observed to originate from this aberrant trunk of the left gastric artery rather than directly from the abdominal aorta. These vascular anomalies were discovered incidentally during the dissection and analysis of eight cadavers, as part of a study aiming to compare the distances between the main branches of the thoracic and abdominal aorta. This report examines the anomalous branching patterns found on the aortic arch and abdominal aorta, with a detailed review of relevant anatomical and embryological literature. High-resolution images captured during dissection provide clear visual documentation of these vascular variations, offering a level of detail often lacking in existing publications. Understanding such anomalies is critical not only for anatomists but also for clinicians and surgeons involved in abdominal and thoracic procedures, as failure to recognize these variants may result in surgical complications or misinterpretation of imaging studies.