Internal Carotid Artery

Synonyms

Carotid artery; Cerebral artery

Definition

The internal carotid artery, an artery of the head and neck, is the major source of blood supply for the anterior portion of the brain. The right and left internal carotid arteries derive from the common carotid artery on each respective side of the neck. The right common carotid artery is a branch of the innominate artery, which derives from the aorta and is located behind the right clavicle in the upper chest. The leftcommon carotid artery branches directly from the arch of the aorta shortly after the aorta leaves the heart. The internal carotid artery has several components: the cervical segment or C1, petrous segment or C2, lacerum segment or C3, cavernous segment or C4, clinoid segment or C5, ophthalmic or supraclinoid segment or C6, and communicating or terminal segment or C7. In the neck, the cervical segment of the internal carotid artery does not give rise to any branches. However, through its course inside the brain, it...