Anomalous Left Coronary Artery
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(rollover to compare with normal) What Is It?

In this very rare defect, affecting boys and girls equally, the left coronary artery, which supplies oxygen-rich blood to the heart muscle, is "anomalous," or abnormal, in form.

In the normal heart, the left coronary artery arises from the aorta, the large vessel that carries oxygen-rich blood from the heart to the body. However, in this case, the left coronary artery arises from the pulmonary artery (as shown by the arrow in the illustration at left) instead of from the aorta.