Coronary Artery Dominance Pattern in Cadaveric Hearts at the University of Lagos College of Medicine

Coronary artery dominance refers to which coronary artery gives rise to the posterior descending artery and supplies the inferior wall of the left ventricle. The dominance pattern has direct implications for understanding the territory of myocardial infarction, planning percutaneous coronary interventions, and performing coronary artery bypass surgery. Right dominance is most common globally, but the frequency of left and codominant patterns varies across ethnic groups. This study aims to document the coronary artery dominance pattern in cadaveric hearts at the University of Lagos College of Medicine, South West Nigeria. Cadaveric hearts will be dissected systematically, and the origin and course of the posterior descending artery will be traced to determine dominance pattern. Additional observations on the number and proximal course of the major coronary branches will be recorded. Data will be compared with available West African and international coronary anatomy studies. The study anticipates producing a frequency distribution of coronary dominance patterns applicable to cardiologists and cardiac surgeons operating within the Lagos patient population, contributing to a growing body of Nigerian cardiac anatomical data.

Keywords: coronary artery dominance, cardiac anatomy, cadaveric dissection, myocardial infarction, Lagos