The superior laryngeal artery is the principal artery supplying the laryngeal mucosa, musculature, and glands. Knowledge of variations in the origin of superior laryngeal artery could prove to be very useful during reconstructive surgeries of the larynx, partial laryngectomy, laryngeal transplantation, and also during procedures like super-selective intra-arterial chemotherapy for laryngeal and hypolaryngeal cancers. However, relatively few studies have been done on the superior laryngeal artery in comparison to its clinical importance. The present study was aimed at documenting the prevalence of variable origin of the superior laryngeal artery within the carotid triangle. Sixty hemi-necks obtained from 30 South Indian cadavers were dissected and studied for variations in the origin of superior laryngeal artery. It was observed that the superior laryngeal artery took origin from superior thyroid in 91.7% cases. Variable origin from the external carotid artery was noted in 5% cases. The superior laryngeal artery was found to arise from the lingual artery in one case alone (1.7%). In addition to the above findings, a very rare variation of superior laryngeal artery arising from the ascending pharyngeal (1.7%) was also observed in the hemi-neck of one cadaver. All the variations that were observed were unilateral and on the left side. These findings may help provide further insight to the anatomists, radiologists and surgeons and can help improve performances during surgical manipulations of the larynx.
Anatomists ; Arteries* ; Cadaver ; Carotid Artery, External ; Drug Therapy ; Humans ; Laryngeal Mucosa ; Laryngectomy ; Larynx ; Prevalence ; Surgeons ; Thyroid Gland

Variations in the vascular anatomy of the carotid triangle have been reported in current scientific literature. The carotid arteries, being the major feeding arteries of the head and neck deserve special importance and protection from iatrogenic injury during radiological evaluations and surgical interventions. The present study was carried out over a period of 4 years from 2012–2016 to assess the variant anatomy of external carotid artery. The external carotid artery and its branches were dissected bilaterally in 40 formalin embalmed cadavers. The external carotid artery was traced from its origin to termination and variations in the branching pattern as well as the level of the carotid bifurcation were observed and analysed. A higher carotid bifurcation was observed in 25% cases. The linguofacial trunk was the commonest variation noted in the branching pattern seen in 20% cases. A single case of unilateral thyrolinguofacial trunk was also observed. The external carotid artery gave rise to accessory branches in 7.5% cases namely the superior laryngeal, accessory ascending pharyngeal and masseteric branches. A slender branch to the internal jugular vein was also observed in one case. These findings may provide further insight into the understanding of the vascular anatomy of the carotid triangle to the curious student, the discerning radiologist and the vigilant surgeon to avert complications and help improve overall treatment outcome.
Arteries ; Cadaver* ; Carotid Arteries ; Carotid Artery, External* ; Formaldehyde ; Head ; Humans ; Jugular Veins ; Neck ; Treatment Outcome

Vascular anomalies are a serendipitous finding during surgeries and diagnostic angiography. Such variations are frequently encountered in the abdominal region. These anomalies are usually asymptomatic but the presence of hepatic arterial variations may lead to injuries of the liver during surgery. The present study was conducted on 35 adult embalmed cadavers, 31 males, 4 females from August 2015 to December 2021 in the Department of Anatomy, Amrita School of Medicine, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi. In this study of 35 cadavers, we present 3 variants: an accessory right hepatic artery, replaced common hepatic artery, replaced common hepatic artery anastomosis with accessory left hepatic artery and an arc of Buhler. One of our variants has not yielded a precedent in literature search. We have compared these variants with Michels and Hiatt classification. It is known that different variants arise at distinct stages of embryonic development. As specialists in anatomy, we have tried to correlate the variants in our study with their embryological origins.