Anatomy of the arteries and veins in the neck

1. Big picture

For neurology, neck vessel anatomy is important because the brain’s arterial inflow and venous outflow pass through the neck. A lesion here can cause stroke, transient ischemic attack (TIA), amaurosis fugax, carotid dissection, vertebral artery dissection, subclavian steal syndrome, venous thrombosis, or can be detected during carotid Doppler ultrasound, CT angiography, MR angiography, or digital subtraction angiography.

For the exam, you should be able to explain:

• where the common carotid artery, internal carotid artery, external carotid artery, vertebral artery, subclavian artery, and jugular veins run;

• how to distinguish internal carotid artery (ICA) from external carotid artery (ECA);

• why the ECA is clinically important as a collateral pathway;

• how carotid and vertebral pathology produces anterior or posterior circulation symptoms.