Common types of vascular rings: a pictorial guide.

Abstract

A vascular ring is when vascular structures encircle the trachea and oesophagus and can lead to compression of these structures, and in the current era, these are commonly diagnosed prenatally. This pictorial piece describes the anatomical features of the three most encountered vascular rings in contemporaneous practice, namely, right aortic arch with left-sided ductal ligament and aberrant left subclavian artery; right aortic arch with left-sided ductal ligament and mirror image branching pattern and double aortic arch. A combination of fetal, paediatric and surgical images are used to display the anatomical features.