Embryological consideration of the inferolateral trunk

Abstract

Inferolateral trunk (ILT), also called inferior or lateral cavernous branch, of the internal carotid artery is an important artery during neuro-intervention and neurosurgery. However, its embryological background is not well elucidated. Review of the developmental biology of this small artery indicated that the alleged nomenclatures of the remnant of the primitive maxillary artery of Sabin (1917) and primitive dorsal ophthalmic artery of Lasjaunias (1977) are misnomers because the primordium of the ILT does not nourish the maxilla or retina essentially, but it supplies the premandibular region where the premandibular (prechordal) mesoderm and its surrounding premandibular trigeminal neural crests are distributed. Thus, this embryological artery might be called the primitive premandibular artery more appropriately, and its remnant, i.e., the ILT, might be recognized as the remnant of the primitive premandibular artery.