Illustrated Encyclopedia of Human Anatomic Variation: Opus II: Cardiovascular System: Arteries: Head, Neck, and Thorax
Ronald A. Bergman, PhD
Adel K. Afifi, MD, MS
Ryosuke Miyauchi, MD
Peer Review Status: Internally Peer Reviewed
Stehbens regards a normal circle of Willis to be one in which there is a complete anastomotic polygon, which may show considerable variability not only of its components but also its branches. The so-called normal or textbook description holds true in about 34.5% of cases based on a composit review of 1413 brains. Not even Willis's original illustration conforms to the usual textbook description.
See illustrations for Circle variations.
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References
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