Emel ESMERER, Sedat Giray KANDEMIRLI, Deniz Esin Tekcan SANLI, Yasemin KAYADIBI, Naci KOCER, Civan ISLAK, Osman KIZILKILIC
Annals of Clinical and Analytical Medicine - 2026;17(4):318-323
Aim: We aimed to investigate the origin and branching variations of the ophthalmic artery (OA) by digital subtraction angiography (DSA) and flat-panel detector computed tomography angiography (FDCTA). Methods: 150 patients with FDCTA images were selected for retrospective analysis of the following OA features: the angle between OA and ICA at origin, the distance of the OA origin to the tuberculum sella, the distance of the central retinal artery origin to the orbital apex, distance between OA origin and entry point to the optic channel, the diameters of the OA at its origin and the osseous optic channel entry and exit. Results: There was a significant but weak correlation between the distance from the tuberculum sella and the mean thickness of the OA's origin on axial and sagittal planes (p<0.05). A significant but weak positive correlation between the optical channel entry distance after the OA origin and OA thickness at origin on axial and sagittal planes and optical channel insertion and exit, and the width of the osseous optic canal exit and entry (r=0.204, 0.225, 0.215, 0.315, 0.257 and p<0.05, respectively) were found. A strong correlation between the width of the osseous optic canal at the exit and entry sites was found (r=0.655, p<0.001). Conclusion: FDCTA can provide details about the anatomy of the OA. We gained data about the variety due to age and gender. We mentioned the advantages and disadvantages that may arise in clinical practice related to O A's variant anatomy.
