Common carotid artery At approximately the level of the fourth cervical vertebra, the common carotid artery splits ("bifurcates" in literature) into an internal carotid artery (ICA) and an external carotid artery (ECA). While both branches travel upward, the internal carotid takes a deeper (more internal) path, eventually travelling up into the skull to supply the brain. The external carotid artery travels more closely to the surface, and sends off numerous branches that supply the neck and face. At the lower part of the neck the common carotid artery is very deeply seated, being covered by the integument, superficial fascia, the platysma muscle, deep
Intima-media thickness not satisfactory. IMT can be measured using external ultrasound in large arteries relatively close to the skin (e.g. the carotid, brachial, radial, or femoral arteries). External ultrasound methods have the advantage of being non-invasive, comparatively low cost and convenient. Deeper internal arteries, such as the coronary arteries require special intravascular catheters employing ultrasound or optical coherence tomography to measure IMT. The carotid artery is the usual site of measurement of IMT and consensus statements for carotid IMT have been published for adults and children. Often, IMT is measured in three locations: in the common carotid artery (typically at one cm