Abstract #3409

Leijser L, Fitzpatrick J, Srinivasan L, Rutherford M, Dyet L, Hajnal J, Cowan F, Malamateniou C, Counsell S, Allsop J

The Circle of Willis (CoW) is a ring-like arterial structure that serves as potential collateral pathway and is known to display anatomical variations in adults. We used MRA at 3Tesla to identify CoW anatomic variations in the developing brain and to correlate those with known differences in development and disease. We recruited 19 preterm at term and 12 term infants with normal MRI and 10 infants with vascular disease. Differences in the occurrence of the anatomic variations and completeness of the CoW were found between preterm and term infants, those with and without vascular disease and between boys and girls.