Internal Carotid Artery Occlusion in Cavernous Sinus Thrombosis

INFLAMMATION contiguous to the internal carotid artery in the neck or intracranially may produce arteritis with subsequent thrombosis of the artery. These conditions include retropharyngeal abscess,¹Staphylococcus aureus infection of the throat,² infections of ear, nose, and paranasal sinuses,³ septic tonsilitis with suppurative cervical lymphadenitis,⁴ pyogenic meningitis,⁵ and tuberculous meningitis.^6-9 Except for a brief report by Bickerstaff⁴ of a case of infective cavernous sinus thrombosis producing constriction and irregularity of the internal carotid artery, and mention of another case by Krayenbuhul and Yasargil,¹⁰ there are no other documented angiographic observations on carotid arterial changes in septic cavernous sinus thrombosis. Weisman,¹¹ in an autopsy study of a case of cavernous sinus thrombophlebitis, found multiple cerebral arterial infarcts of embolic origin but was unable to demonstrate a source of emboli, though the intracavernous portion of internal carotid artery showed focal arteritis.