The Vascular System: Normal and Pathologic Anatomy and Hemodynamic Principles

Abstract

The main extracranial arteries are the right and left vertebral arteries and the right and left common carotid arteries, which bifurcate into the external carotid artery (ECA) and the internal carotid artery (ICA) at the level of C3–C6. Major branches of the ECA are the superior thyroid artery, the ascending pharyngeal artery, the facial artery, the lingual artery, the occipital artery — with an ascending pharyngeal and posterior auricular segment — the posterior auricular artery, the superficial temporal artery, and the internal maxillary artery, including a mandibular, pterygoid and pterygopalatine segment. The ICA ascends medial and anterior to the internal jugular vein before entering the carotid canal of the petrous bone. The carotid siphon has five segments in its extradural and intradural portion: a. Meningohypophyseal trunk b. Inferolateral trunk c. McConnell’s capsular artery d. Ophthalmic artery e. Superior hypophyseal branch and posterior communicating branches KeywordsLeft Anterior DescendSuperior Vena CavaGiant Cell ArteritisPathologic AnatomyCommon Iliac VeinThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.