The persistent stapedial artery

The persistent stapedial artery is a rare congenital vascular anomaly that may present as a pulsatile middle ear mass or that may appear as an inciden tal finding. Five cases of persistent stapedial artery are presented. The C T findings include the absence of the ipsilateral foramen spinosum and a so ft-tissue prominence in the region of the tympanic segment of the facial ne rve. Three cases were associated with an aberrant internal carotid artery. Imaging identification of this variant may obviate unnecessary surgery and may help in planning surgical or endovascular interventions.