Microanatomy of the subcallosal artery: an in-vivo 7 T magnetic resonance angiography study

To investigate in-vivo microanatomy of the subcallosal artery branching from the anterior communicating artery (ACoA) using time-of-flight (TOF) magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) at 7 Tesla. Seventy-five subjects, including 15 healthy volunteers and 60 patients, were included in this prospective study. Three raters characterized branches from ACoA in maximum intensity projections of TOF MRA at 7 Tesla acquired with 0.22 x 0.22 x 0.41 mm(3) resolution. Furthermore, course patterns and anatomical features of the subcallosal artery (maximum diameter, length, and branching angle from ACoA) were measured. Branches from the anterior communicating artery were visualized in 63 of 74 (85.1 %) subjects and were identified as the subcallosal artery (93.7 %) and the accessory anterior cerebral artery (6.3 %). The course of the subcallosal artery was classified into 3 groups; C-shaped (55.9 %), straight (16.9 %), and S-shaped (27.2 %). There was a significant difference between the branching angles of C-shaped and straight (p < 0.0001), between C-shaped and S-shaped (p < 0.0001), as well as between straight and S-shaped (p = 0.0113) course patterns. High-resolution in-vivo 7 T TOF MRA can delineate the microanatomy of the subcallosal artery. Three main variants of course patterns and branching angles from ACoA could be identified. aEuro cent In-vivo 7 Tesla TOF MRA can delineate the subcallosal artery microanatomy aEuro cent Three distinct course patterns of the subcallosal artery were identified aEuro cent Branching angles from ACoA significantly differed between subcallosal artery course patterns.