Internal carotid artery Internal carotid artery The internal carotid artery is a major paired artery, one on each side of the head and neck, in human anatomy. They arise from the common carotid arteries where these bifurcate into the internal and external carotid arteries at cervical vertebral level 3 or 4; the internal carotid artery supplies the brain, while the external carotid nourishes other portions of the head, such as face, scalp, skull, and meninges. Terminologia Anatomica in 1998 subdivided the artery into four parts: "cervical", "petrous", "cavernous", and "cerebral". However, in clinical settings, the classification system of the internal carotid artery usually
Cerebral arteries Cerebral arteries Cerebral arteries describe three main pairs of arteries and their branches, which perfuse the cerebrum of the brain. The three main arteries consist of the: Both the ACA and MCA originate from the cerebral portion of internal carotid artery, while PCA branches from the intersection of the posterior communicating artery and the anterior portion of the basilar artery. The three pairs of arteries are linked via the anterior communicating artery and the posterior communicating arteries. All three arteries send out arteries that perforate brain in the medial central portions prior to branching and bifurcating further. The arteries are