Major Blood Vessels Of Head And Neck Flashcards
What is a Carotid Endarterectomy?
Making an incision into the neck and carotid artery to remove plaque
Is the IJV or EJV larger?
IJV
Which 2 arteries to the head and neck branch off of the Subclavian Artery?
Which of these keep moving upwards to the skull?
Which one branches? What does it branch into?
- Vertebral Artery keeps moving upwards (through Transverse Foramina above C7)
- Thyrocervical Trunk-> Inferior Thyroid Artery
What nerve does the Inferior Thyroid Artery come close to, that surgeons need to be careful of when operating on thyroid?
Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve (branch of Vagus)
Why is the left common carotid artery slightly longer?
Left (arises directly from arch of aorta) travels for an extra 2cm in superior mediastinum before entering neck
Whereas right CCA branches off of subclavian artery
Describe the organisation of the Carotid Sheath’s vessels
Where does the sympathetic chain lie in relation to the sheath?
CCA lies medially to vein, while vagus nerve is behind and in between the vessels
Sympathetic chain lies outside of the sheath, medially and behind it
At the bifurcation of the CCA, why is the Internal Carotid Artery more bulbous?
Due to the Carotid Sinus (and Carotid body)
Sinus is just before the bifurcation
What is the Carotid Sinus?
What is the Carotid Body?
A swelling of the CCA just before it bifurcates, containing Baroreceptors
A group of chemoreceptors that detect arterial O2
Clinically, why can rubbing the carotid sinus firmly be beneficial?
A carotid massage can alleviate Supra-Ventricular Tachycardias
Which parts of the head are supplied by the Vertebral arteries?
Posterior neck and posterior parts of brain (e.g Brainstem, Cerebellum)
Describe the pathway of the Internal Carotid Artery up to the point where it branches to supply the brain and eye?
Explain in 4 steps
- Ascends through neck, giving off no branches
- Enters base of skull through Carotid Canal (In petrous part of temporal bone)
- Turns Medially and Horizontally, then makes an S shaped bend
- Passes through the Cavernous Sinus
- Once it exits, it gives off its branches
Briefly, what is the Cavernous Sinus?
A plexus of very thin-walled veins on the upper surface of the Sphenoid bone
The Supra trochlear and Supra orbital arteries are facial arteries, but strangely they do not come from the External Carotid Artery.
Outline their branching pathway
Internal Carotid-> Opthalmic-> Supra Trochlear and Orbital arteries
Which branch of the Internal Carotid Artery goes into the Optic nerve?
Why is it a very important artery?
Central Retinal Artery
If blood supply is lost, vision in that eye is lost (Can happen from embolism)
Which areas do the Supra trochlear and Supra orbital artery supply?
Scalp (also supplied by external carotid artery)