Anatomical Variations in the Branches of External Carotid Artery in Cadavers of Nepalese Origin

Introduction: Knowledge of the position and the variations of the external carotid artery and its branches are essential for faciomaxillary surgery and surgeries of the neck. The variations in the branching pattern are also essential to avoid complications with catheter insertion of carotid arteries in various procedures and pre-operative angiography. The external carotid artery is an important route for administration of anticancer drugs for head and neck cancer, so the knowledge of anatomy of branching pattern of external carotid artery is clinically important. Materials and Methods: Total 30 external carotid arteries were included in the present study. The dissection of the external carotid artery was carried in the dissection hall of the Anatomy Department, Manipal College of Medical Sciences. When all the branches and course of the external carotid artery was visible, variations was noted. The length of artery was measured with the help of thread, scale and vernier calliper. All the data were analyzed with Microsoft Excel 2007 software and represented as mean and standard deviation. Results: Average length of the external carotid artery from its origin by bifurcation of the common carotid artery to its termination is 8.1 cm on the right side and 8.0 cm on the left side. 40 % of the external carotid artery shows variations in the branching pattern on right side where as 53.4 % of external carotid artery shows variations on left side. Conclusion: The mean length of external carotid artery is more or less difference between right and left side. The prevalence of variations of external carotid artery was seen more on the left side as compared to the right side. The variations in the branching pattern of external carotid artery are important to the vascular surgeons as well as radiologists to prevent diagnostic errors and also to avoid complications while performing surgery in the head and neck region.