Anatomic variation of the vertebral artery

Literature about the anatomy of the vertebral artery indicates that the vertebral artery arises from the subclavian artery and extends from its origin to the transverse foramen of C6 (V1 segment), and then ascends through the transverse foramen of the C6-C1 vertebrae (V2 segment) [1,2,3]. However, we found an anatomic variation in the trajectory of the vertebral artery of a 42-year-old female: her V1 segment extended from its origin to the transverse foramen of C5. Then her vertebral artery passed through the transverse foramen of the C5-C1 vertebrae (V2 segment) instead of passing through the transverse foramen of the C6-C1 vertebrae as it normally would have done (Fig.

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