The internal carotid artery in the ontogenesis of selected representatives of the Cervidae family in Poland

Abstract

In Poland, the environment occurs with the red deer, fallow deer, Eurasian elk and roe deer. Among the ruminants, changes occurring during ontogeny in the arterial system of the head, involving obliteration of the extracranial segment of the internal carotid artery. The aim of this study was to describe the presence and course of the internal carotid artery and indicate the timing of changes in the vascular system of the head associated with the process of obliteration of this vessel. The study was conducted on 146 representatives of the Cervidae family: red deer, fallow deer and roe deer This study showed the presence of a fully preserved internal carotid artery in fetuses and young animals up to the age of about two years. In animals of about 2.5 years of age, only the initial fragment of the internal carotid artery emerging from the carotid sinus and a short fragment directly through the rostral epidural rete mirabile were preserved. In adult animals older than three years the extracranial part of this artery was obliterated.