Anatomical Variations of Vascular Anatomy in Meckel's Diverticulum

Abstract

Objective: The objective of the current study was to describe the anatomical variations of vessels observed in patients with Meckel's Diverticulum.

Methods: A narrative review of the literature was undertaken by means of the PubMed database, using the terms: "Meckel's Diverticulum AND vessels", "Meckel's Diverticulum AND anatomical variation" and "Meckel's Diverticulum variation". Classical anatomical textbooks were also used for normal anatomy. Additional articles provided useful information in relation to the aim of this review. Hence, the articles that met the inclusion criteria were included in this review, and the collected data were categorized into a single table.

Results: The majority of studies indicated the presence of an abnormal vitelline artery. Other angiographic findings concerned variations of the ileal and the iliac arteries. However, the literature revealed the presence of vascular variations without the existence of Meckel's Diverticulum, whereas a remnant of the vitelline vein may be present, but it is very rare.

Conclusion: The detection of vascular variations accompanying Meckel's Diverticulum is not always easy and requires the correct choice of imaging method to prevent misdiagnosis.

Keywords: Anatomical Variation; Meckel's Diverticulum; Vascular Variation; Vitelline Artery; Vitelline Vein.