The external carotid artery begins as a branch of the common carotid artery at the level of the upper border of the thyroid cartilage. It runs upward and backward, terminating in the parotid gland by dividing into the maxillary and superficial temporal arteries at the level of the neck of the mandible. Its main branches include the superior thyroid artery, lingual artery, facial artery, occipital artery, and posterior auricular artery.

1. EXTERNAL CAROTID ARTERY

2. • Beginning
• Course
• Termination
• branches

3. • Beginning: branch of common carotid artery
• At the level of upper border of thyroid
cartilage opposite to C3 and C4
• Course: runs upward and slightly backward
and laterally
• Termination: within the parotid gland by
dividing into maxillary and superficial
temporal artery at the level of the neck of the
mandible.

4. • Relations : carotid triangle
digastric triangle
Branches: medial branches:
1.ASCENDING PHARYNGEAL ARTERY
Anterior branches:
2.SUPERIOR THYROID ARTERY
3.LINGUAL ARTERY
FACIAL ARTERY

5. • Posterior branches:
• 5.OCCIPITAL ARTERY
• 6.POSTERIOR AURICULAR ARTERY
• Terminal branches:
• 7.SUPERFICIAL TEMPORAL ARTERY
• 8.MAXILLARY ARTERY

6. 1.Ascending pharyngeal artery:
• Branches: pharyngeal branches
• Inferior tympanic
• Meningeal branches
2.Superior thyroid artery:
Infra-hyoid
Superior laryngeal
Cricothyroid
Sternocleidomastoid
Terminal branches

7. 3.LINGUAL ARTERY:
Supra-hyoid
Dorsal lingual
Sub-lingual
4.FACIAL ARTERY:
Cervical part: Ascending palatine
Tonsillar
Glandular
Sub-mental

8. • Facial part: Superior labial
• Inferior labial
• Lateral nasal
5.OCCIPITAL ARTERY:
Sternomastoid
Mastoid
Meningeal
Muscular
Descending
Occipital

9. 6.POSTERIOR AURICULAR ARTERY:
Stylomastoid
Auricular
Occipital
7.SUPERFICIAL TEMPORAL ARTERY:
Transverse facial
Anterior auricular
Zygomatic
Middle temporal