3 Major Blood Vessels of Head and Neck Flashcards
List the branches of the external carotid artery:
Some Anatomists Like Freaking Out Poor Medical Students
Some Anatomists Like Freaking Out Poor Medical Students
- Superior thyroid
- Ascending pharyngeal
- Lingual
- Facial
- Occipital
- Posterior auricular
- Maxillary (terminal)
- Superficial temporal (terminal)
Where do the right and left common carotid arteries arise from?
Left common carotid- aortic trunk
Right common carotid- brachiocephalic trunk
At what level does the common carotid bifurcate?
(Common carotid passes through carotid sheath)
C4 (upper margin of thyroid cartilage)
The vertebral artery branches off from the subclavian artery. What course does it take from there?
- Passes in front of C7
- Then enters bony channel created by transverse foramina
- Runs intracranially- through foramen magnum
From what artery does the inferior thyroid artery branch off. What is the clinical significance of the inferior thyroid artery during surgery involving the thyroid gland?
Branches off the thyrocervical trunk (both thyrocervical trunks branch off subclavian)
Need to be careful not to damage recurrent laryngeal nerve as close to inferior thyroid artery
Where does the external carotid artery supply?
External:
- Scalp
- Face
- Neck
Through which canal does the internal carotid artery enter the cranial cavity? (doesn’t give off any branches in the neck)
Enters through carotid canal
- through petrous bone
- through cavernous sinus
Name 2 arteries which have arisen from the internal carotid but have exited out of the orbit to supply the scalp.
- Supratrochlear
- Supraorbital
(anastamose with branches from external carotid)
Where would we find the baroreceptors in the carotid artery and therefore where you would do a carotid sinus massage to slow heart rate?
At point of bifrucation- slight swelling before internal carotid artery
- carotid sinus (ie carotid bulb)
- at C4 level
Useful diagram to show internal carotid artery running through cavernous sinus
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Branches of circle of willis supply blood to brain tissue itself
What is the main vein that drains the scalp, face and neck? Which foramen does it arise from?
Internal jugular vein
Arises from jugular foramen
Fill in the missing label:
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Where does the pterygoid plexus sit?
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What vein drains the pterygoid plexus into the internal jugular vein?
maxillary vein
Fill in the missing labels:
(think extracranial branches of external carotid)
What are the 5 layers that make up the scalp? (pneumonic= SCALP)
Via what veins might infections of the scalp (extracranially) spread intracranially?
Via emissary veins
What is the ‘danger triangle’ in the face?
Region- high risk of infections tracking intracranially to involve brain
