Posterior communicating artery duplication is a rare variation of the posterior communicating artery, which connects the posterior cerebral artery circulation to the internal carotid artery.
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Epidemiology
Duplication has an estimated incidence of 3% 1.
Gross anatomy
Duplication is said to occur when there are two vessels arising from the internal carotid artery instead of one. There are two distinct types depending on the pattern of insertion.
If they merge into one artery distally before inserting into the posterior cerebral artery then it is referred to as a partial duplication. If, on the other hand, they are both inserted independently into the posterior cerebral artery, then it is known as a complete PCoA duplication 2.
Clinical importance
There is no known association between duplication and the occurrence of aneurysms at the origin of the posterior communicating artery 1. Nonetheless, knowledge and identification of this type of variation is of importance during neurovascular surgery as the origin of the posterior communicating artery is a common site for cerebral aneurysm formation.
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