External carotid artery External carotid artery The external carotid artery is a major artery of the head and neck. It arises from the common carotid artery when it splits into the external and internal carotid artery. It supplies blood to the face and neck. The external carotid artery begins at the upper border of thyroid cartilage, and curves, passing forward and upward, and then inclining backward to the space behind the neck of the mandible, where it divides into the superficial temporal and maxillary artery within the parotid gland. It rapidly diminishes in size as it travels up the neck, owing to the
Carotid stenting Carotid stenting Carotid artery stenting (CAS) is an endovascular procedure where a stent is deployed within the lumen of the carotid artery to treat narrowing of the carotid artery and decrease the risk of stroke. CAS is used to treat narrowing of the carotid artery in high-risk patients, when carotid endarterectomy is considered too risky. Carotid artery stenosis can present with no symptoms or with symptoms such as transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) or strokes. The largest clinical trial to date, CREST, compared stenting to surgery on the collective incidence of any stroke, any heart attack or death. They found that