Abstract
Objective: Segmental agenesis of the cervical portion of the internal carotid artery (ICA) is reported.
Case presentation: A 39-year-old man was admitted to our hospital for examination of a pharyngeal mass. Cerebral angiography revealed that left common carotid artery had a stump at the level of the fourth cervical vertebral body, and ascended without branching off the ICA. All the branches of the external carotid artery branched off normally. Thereafter, the artery ran tortuously and continued as the ICA at the level of the third cervical vertebral body. The distal portion of the ICA was normal.
Conclusion: From an embryological point of view, it is speculated that the proximal portion of the cervical segment of the ICA might have been involuted (segmental agenesis) and its distal portion reconstituted by the ipsilateral external carotid artery.
