A rare combination of atypical cerebral vascular anatomy

A 57-year-old woman presented with neurologic deficits consistent with a cerebrovascular accident. Her workup demonstrated the simultaneous occurrence of three uncommon cerebrovascular congenital anomalies in a single patient: (1) persistent trigeminal artery, (2) persistent fetal origin of the posterior cerebral artery and (3) bilateral occurrence of the vertebral arteries terminating in the posterior inferior cerebellar arteries. These persistent fetal cerebrovascular anatomic variants are reviewed and the clinical relevance discussed.