A STUDY OF ANATOMICAL VARIATIONS OF THE COMMON CAROTID ARTERIES: A CADAVERIC STUDY

Background: Anatomical variations of carotid arterial system which are not infrequently encountered have a great impact on the surgical approaches of the neck. Although the described individual variations of the carotid arteries are well-known in the literature, the combination of anomalies reported in this study has not been, to the best of our knowledge, previously described. The carotid arteries show important variability and thus emphasise caution for clinicians during surgical procedures in the neck. Methods:The present study was undertaken on 80 common carotid arteries (40 left, 40 right) of both sexes from embalmed adult human cadavers. The specimens were studied by detailed dissection method. Results: In the present study,fiftyone (63.8%) bifurcations of common carotid arteries were high among which the most common levels of bifurcation was at the level of C 3 vertebral body (37.5%). The origin of the right common carotid artery was high and low in 10% and 2.6% of vessels respectively. Conclusion: The carotid arteries show important variability and thus emphasise caution for clinicians during surgical procedures in the neck.