Carotid artery stenosis Carotid artery stenosis Carotid artery stenosis is a narrowing or constriction of any part of the carotid arteries, usually caused by atherosclerosis. The common carotid artery is the large artery whose pulse can be felt on both sides of the neck under the jaw. On the right side it starts from the brachiocephalic artery (a branch of the aorta), and on the left side the artery comes directly off the aortic arch. At the throat it forks into the internal carotid artery and the external carotid artery. The internal carotid artery supplies the brain, and the external carotid artery supplies
Human brain been shown with lymph valves, to be more extensive at the base of the brain where they exit with the cranial nerves. The internal carotid arteries supply oxygenated blood to the front of the brain and the vertebral arteries supply blood to the back of the brain. These two circulations join together in the circle of Willis, a ring of connected arteries that lies in the interpeduncular cistern between the midbrain and pons. The internal carotid arteries are branches of the common carotid arteries. They enter the cranium through the carotid canal, travel through the cavernous sinus and enter the