A Morphological Study of Branches of External Carotid Artery in Adult Human Cadavers

Abstract

IntroductionExternal carotid artery has eight named branches distributing to head and neck. The rich vascularity of most parts of head and neck (except brain and eye) is mainly maintained by external carotid artery through its branches. The detailed knowledge of external carotid artery and its branches is important for procedures like catheterization, radical neck dissection, reconstruction of aneurysms and carotid endarterectomy to prevent vascular accidents. Material and methodsTwenty formalin fixed adult human cadavers, obtained from the Department of Anatomy were dissected. ResultsMean distances of origin of eight branches of external carotid artery from carotid bifurcation were measured. The most common variation found was linguo-facial trunk in fourteen specimens (35%). The other variations found were common trunk for ascending pharyngeal artery and occipital artery in five specimens (12.82%) and thyrolingual trunk in one specimen (2.56%).There was appearance of two roots of ascending pharyngeal artery in one case. DiscussionKnowledge about the variations of origin of branches of external carotid artery is important for surgeons performing head and neck surgeries. It is also helpful for radiologists for diagnostic imaging of vascular lesions and for interventional procedures.