The prevalence of anatomical variations in the intraorbital part of the ophthalmic artery and its branches in cadavers

[摘要] English: The human orbit contains various important structures that may show variations relating totheir anatomy. This study focused on the intraorbital part of the ophthalmic artery in a SouthAfrican cadaver sample in the Free State (UFS) and Western Cape provinces (UCT).Meyer pioneered the study of the ophthalmic artery as far back as 1887, with a main focuson its branches and their variations. Very limited investigation has been carried out in thisfield and available literature has little information on this. Currently no published data existson the South African population with regard to intraorbital variations within the ophthalmicartery and its branches.Original research was conducted to address the problem of the lack of data. Dissections ofthe eyes were done to investigate and document the possible variations of the intraorbitalpart of the ophthalmic artery and its branches.The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of anatomical variations in theintraorbital part of the ophthalmic artery and its branches in a cadaver sample. The results ofthe study will be of value to surgical interventionists treating patients with vascular diseaseswithin the orbital region and also to the ophthalmology students studying the orbital vascularanatomy.A total number of 59 cadavers were utilised, and 118 eyes were dissected under the lightedmagnifier and observed for variations. The sample consisted of 23 cadavers (46 eyes) fromthe Department of Basic Medical Sciences of the University of the Free State, and 36cadavers (72 eyes) from the Department of Human Biology of the University of Cape Town.Sixteen types of variations were observed and documented.The ophthalmic artery crossed below the optic nerve in the left eye in 7.63% of cadavers atboth institutions. No ophthalmic artery crossed below the optic nerve in the right eye in theUCT group, whereas 17.39% in the UFS group crossed below the optic nerve. Statisticalanalyses determined the frequencies of the variations. In certain individuals there were morethan one type of variation which is in agreement with published literature. The majority ofvariations in branching patterns occurred bilaterally and in most cases, the variation in theleft eye differed from the variation in the right eye. Males showed a higher frequency ofvariations.These findings may well contribute to clinical application in ophthalmology and radiologywhile it will also inform anatomy students studying the blood supply to the eye andsurrounding structures.

[发布机构] University of the Free State