Coronary anatomy

Introduction and History

Coronary angiography is a minimally invasive procedure to access the coronary circulation and blood filled chambers of the heart using a catheter. It is performed for both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.

It has become such a common tool in diagnosing coronary artery disease, that it is hard to understand it’s relatively short history. Radner was the first researcher in 1945 to visualize the coronary arteries in humans, through a transsternal puncture [1]. In 1958 Sones at the Cleveland Clinic succeeded in injecting small amounts of contrast material directly in the coronary arteries[2]. In the late sixties Judkins developed the percutaneous transfemoral approach and used pre-bent catheters to cannulate the coronary ostia. In the seventies Charles Dotter and Andreas Gruntzig extended the catheterization to therapeutic uses. In the nineties, vascular acces via the radial artery became a realistic alternative.

References

1. Radner S. An attempt at the roentgenologic visualization of coronary blood vessels in man. Acta Radiol Suppl (Stockholm). 2008 Aug;434:43-6. DOI:10.1080/02841850802133345 |
2. SONES FM Jr and SHIREY EK. Cine coronary arteriography. Mod Concepts Cardiovasc Dis. 1962 Jul;31:735-8.

3. Jukema JW, Vliegen HW, Bruschke AVG. Coronary angiography: principles, technique and interpretation. 1e druk, Leiden, the Netherlands, 2009. Chapter 1: 7