The Adamkiewicz artery: demonstration by intra-arterial computed tomographic angiography.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of using multidetector-row CT angiography (CTA) with intra-arterial contrast injection (IA-CTA) to depict the artery of Adamkiewicz (arteria radicularis magna, ARM).

Methods: We performed IA-CTA in 27 preoperative patients with aneurysm or dissection of the descending thoracic or thoracoabdominal aorta. ARM was examined on multiplanar and curved planar reformation images and on the paging method, and we investigated detectability and visualization of the ARM, the level of branching, and right/left frequency as well as continuity from the origin to the ARM.