ACCORDING to most of the large textbooks of anatomy (e. g., those of Cunningham, Gray, and Spalteholz), the internal carotid artery arises from the common carotid at the level of the upper edge of the thyroid cartilage and then passes almost vertically to the carotid foramen, lateral to and behind the pharynx. It is mentioned that the artery may follow a slightly tortuous course, but actual ectopy has only been mentioned in the clinical literature, most frequently in the form of single case histories.
An abnormal course of the cervical part of the internal carotid artery may be present to a varying degree, either in the form of a faint pulsation of the posterior palatine arch or in the form of a prominent and pulsating vessel in the middle of the posterior pharyngeal wall. It is important to be aware of this vascular anomaly owing to the fatal consequences following