Truncus Arteriosus

  • Etiology: Congenital heart defect where single blood vessel arises from right and left ventricles and pulmonary artery arises from this truncal vessel
  • Imaging: Admixture lesion leads to cyanosis and increased pulmonary blood flow
  • Imaging CXR:
    — Right sided arch in 30%
    — Increased pulmonary blood flow
  • DDX:
  • Complications:
  • Treatment:
  • Clinical:

Radiology Cases of Truncus Arteriosus

Angiogram of truncus arteriosus
AP image from an aortic root injection in an angiogram shows simultaneous opacification of a right aortic arch and the pulmonary artery arising from it.
CXR and CT of truncus arteriosus
CXR AP (above) shows a right sided aortic arch and mildly increased pulmonary vascularity. Axial CT MIP with contrast of the chest (below) shows a single right-sided truncal vessel arising from the right and left ventricles and then arising from this truncal vessel is a short main pulmonary artery that divides into confluent normally sized left and right pulmonary arteries.