Partial anomalous pulmonary venous connection: state-of-the-art review with assessment using a multidetector computed tomography angiography

Pulmonary venous anomalies occur as a result of failure in normal embryological development. These anomalies may present as a spectrum ranging from normal variation to partial anomalous pulmonary venous connection (PAPVC) and total anomalous pulmonary venous connection (TAPVC). Though not rare, PAPVC is an uncommon anomaly in which some of the pulmonary veins abnormally connect and drain into the vascular compartments other than the left atrium (LA); however, the others drain normally into the LA. The clinical presentation and severity of affected patients depend on the morphological heterogeneity of the disease. PAPVC associated with other complex conge­nital cardiac diseases present early and are more severe than isolated PAPVC-associated atrial septal defect only. This radiological review gives a detailed description of PAPVC in terms of morphological variability and associated anomalies along with a discussion of the role of multidetector dual-source computed tomography scan in the diagnostic assessment.