Corona mortis – a case report with surgical implications

Corona mortis is a Latin terminology which means “crown of death”. It indicates the presence of both the normal and variant obturator artery with extensive anastomoses. One such finding was observed in a female cadaver where the obturator artery was arising from the anterior division of the internal iliac artery and also the abnormal obturator artery from the inferior epigastric artery. These two vessels anastomosed at the upper border of the obturator foramen. This is referred to as the origin of the obturator artery by 2 roots in some studies and the abnormal obturator artery is in fact considered as a normal variant due to its common occurrence. Some studies have included such anastomosis between the veins also as corona mortis. The variant vessels are at risk of injury not only in groin surgery but also in orthopedic surgery and pelvic fractures, and are to be dealt with care during surgical procedures.