Ardeshir Moayeri, Azim Hedayatpour, Marzieh Darvishi, Alireza Afifipour, Pooyan Kamalivand

Abstract

A variation of the right common carotid artery (CCA) was found after routine dissection of a 28-year-old male cadaver. on right side, carotid arose from the brachiocephalic trunk behind the sternoclavicular joint, and the bifurcation of CCA to external and internal carotid artery normally occurs 1cm just above the lamina of thyroid cartilage. While  onthe left side, carotid artery arose from the aortic arch and divided in face, above and behind the angle of the mandible on 4cm higher than the superior lamina of thyroid cartilage. The arteries did not have any branches on the cervical region on the left side, after bifurcation of CCA; external carotid branch passes 4.5 cm and then divides into two branches. One of the branches is a facial artery which crosses the inferior border of the mandible, and it enters the face between the submandibular gland and mandible. The precise location of the CCA bifurcation is of great necessity in head and neck surgeries in order to prevent rupture and hemorrhage. A high CCA bifurcation increases the risk of arterial rupture in therapeutic procedures such as thyroid and parathyroid surgeries, ENT interventions and radiological examinations.