CT appearance of a patent impar umbilical artery in an adult woman and related anomalies: a case report and review of the literature

BACKGROUND: We report on a case of an impar umbilical artery (IUA) in an 18-year-old woman. CASE PRESENTATION: The aorta branched off at level L2 into a ventral IUA and a dorsal aorta. The strong IUA produced the inferior mesenteric artery (IMA), the renal artery of a left-sided duplex kidney, and the right-sided ovarian artery before it turned to the right to merge into the right common iliac artery. From the aorta arose the lumbar arteries, the median sacral artery, lateral sacral arteries, and iliolumbar arteries before it turned to the left. Both vessels were connected by an artery 0.8 cm in diameter running infraperitoneal, from the left side of which the uterine artery arose for a left paramedian uterus didelphys. CONCLUSION: This anatomical situation is presented for the first time using an arterial contrast enhanced CT and is discussed within the context of previously known cases.