Bilateral Abnormal Origin of the Anterior Branches of the External Carotid Artery

Background Description of a rare variation is provided alongside with a review of the literature with special references to anatomic, embryologic, and clinical issues it may create. Methods This was a cadaveric dissection conducted during a pregraduate anatomy course that is accompanied by short review of the literature and critical appraisal. Results During dissection of the neck region of a male cadaver, the superior thyroid artery occurred from the common carotid artery bilaterally and the lingual artery occurred from the carotid bifurcation on the left side. Conclusions Superior thyroid artery originating from common carotid artery or carotid bifurcation is a common variation, but the lingual artery originating from the common carotid artery or carotid bifurcation is very rare (