[Soft tissue characterization of the female pelvis with MRI]. / Caractérisation tissulaire IRM du pelvis féminin.

MRI allows optimal characterization of normal and pathological soft tissues of the female pelvis through the use of standard morphological T1W and T2W sequences, fat-suppression techniques and perfusion and diffusion weighted sequences.

[Aberrant thyroidovertebral artery]. / Artère vertébrothyroïdienne aberrante.

Radiological documents are lacking for many descriptions of variants of vertebral and inferior thyroid arteries reported in the anatomic literature. We report two simultaneous variants, discovered incidentally during a catheterization procedure of the left vertebral artery in a patient admitted for arteriovenous malformation. The vertebral and inferior thyroid arteries arose from a common trunk, issuing directly from the aortic arch. Ipsilateral cervical arteries arose from the subclavian artery that gave no thyroid branch. This aspect was also well documented by Doppler ultrasound. We give an embryological analysis, which would explain these variants by lack of involution of specific arterial segments. More recently, multidetector CT has been found to be helpful in facilitating detection and study of vascular variants.

[Unusual variation of popliteal arterial branches: 4 axes by early division of the peroneal artery]. / Une variante anatomique inhabituelle des branches de l'artère poplitée: quatre axes jambiers par division précoce de l'artère péronière.

Embryonic development of arteries of the lower limb results from the union of dorsal and ventral systems, explaining many variations at different levels. Some of these are important to recognize during the radiological exam because they can affect therapeutic management. These variations are most often bilateral and symmetrical predominating at the popliteal and subpopliteal levels. Lippert classified them into three types: normal level of popliteal arterial branching, high division of popliteal artery, hypoplastic or aplastic branching with altered distal supply. The length of the tibioperoneal trunk may also vary, rarely measuring more than 5 cm. We report a case combining three variations, two of them previously described in the literature and the third one not yet reported: our patient presented four arteries due to early bifurcation of the peroneal artery.

[Stiffened triple axial catheterization of tortuous cervivoencephalic vessels]. / Cathétérisme triple axial renforcé des tortuosités cervico-encéphaliques.

Tortuous anatomy of the cervicoencephalic vessels can cause failure in 4 to 6% of interventional procedures by slippage of the material back in the aorta, kinking or difficulty to move forward a balloon. stent or microcatheter. We report on an old patient with high vascular tortuosity, referred for embolization of a ruptured aneurysm of the left inferior cerebellar artery. Access wasn't possible until we used a "triple axial system" with a long 7F sheath, positioned in the left subclavian artery and strongly supported by a super stiff guidewire with its distal end floating freely in the vascular lumen. Inside the sheath and parallel to the guidewire, we pushed a 4F catheter till the mid-vertebral artery. The microcatheter-microguide system tracked through it, towards the aneurysm, with the backward tendency being neutralized by the increased stiffness. Our technique presents the advantage of a strong back-up support, without increased risks such as vasospasm, clotting or dissection, since the guidewire serving as a stiff rail, lies exteriorly to the navigated vessel. Efficiency of this elegant and relatively low risk solution has yet to be proved in larger series.

[Three-dimensional renal angiography]. / Angiographie rénale tridimensionnelle.

The usefulness of three-dimensional angiography is not fully established except for neurovascular diseases. We report a case of significant renal artery stenosis not shown on conventional angiography because of its orientation along the axial plane, where 3D imaging allowed complete analysis of the lesion leading to endovascular treatment.