Bilateral variation in the course of the internal carotid artery: Case report

Abstract

The internal carotid artery arises at the bifurcation of the common carotid artery and continues upwards within the carotid sheath. It has no branches and passes straight up in the carotid sheath and beside the pharynx to the carotid canal in the base of the skull. This division of the internal carotid artery is defined as the cervical part. Variations in the course of the cervical part have been found in the different studies and have been classified as kinking, coiling and tortuosity. It is known that these variations are associated with cerebrovascular failure and transient ischaemic attack. During routine dissections of the cervical region for educational purposes, bilateral course variations with a marked kinking on the right and distinctive tortuosity on the left side were found in the internal carotid artery of a 75-year old male cadaver. The case is of interest since variations in the course of the internal carotid artery have been shown to be related to cerebrovascular failure.