Ramification aspects of the external carotid artery in Chinese and Japanese

Abstract

We compared aspects of the ramification of the external carotid artery system in Chinese, which were preserved in the Department of Anatomy, First Military Medical University, Guangzhou, China, with those of Japanese. We observed 7 arteries on 31 sides of 17 Chinese. They included the superior thyroid, lingual, facial, occipital, posterior auricular, superficial temporal, and maxillary arteries. Four arteries, the superior thyroid, lingual, facial, and occipital, showed variations that included alteration of the ramification order and formation of a common trunk by two arteries. However, the posterior auricular, superficial temporal, and maxillary arteies showed ramification without variation. The mean length of the external carotid artery in the Chinese was 64.5 mm.The aspects of ramification could be classified into 8 types, which were essentially the same for Chinese and Japanese. Shika Igaku (J Osaka Odontol Soc) 1997 Dec ； 60(4)：302-308．