DOI: 10.4103/jasi.jasi_189_26 ISSN: 0003-2778
Pentafurcation of Common Carotid Artery and Variable Emergence of Branches of the External Carotid Artery
L. K. Keerthy, Archana Rani, U. S. PranavAbstract
Pentafurcation of the common carotid artery (CCA) in the neck region is a rare anatomical variation. During routine dissection of an adult female cadaver, we observed a rare variant of pentafurcation of the left CCA comprising lingual artery, facial artery, ascending pharyngeal artery, external carotid artery, and internal carotid artery. An additional finding was observed in the left superior thyroid artery, which was seen directly emerging from the left CCA. On the right side, the thyrolingual trunk was observed 1 cm above the carotid bifurcation. Knowledge of arterial variations will be extremely useful for head and neck surgeries, radiological evaluation, and interventions.