Common carotid arteries

Looks like

A pencil-thick artery each side of the windpipe, where you feel the pulse in the neck.

What it does

Carries blood to the brain and face, splitting in two at the jaw angle.

Keeping it well

Cholesterol and blood pressure treated, no smoking; plaque here causes strokes.

Its parts

• Internal carotid artery
• External carotid artery
• Carotid sinus & body
• Right common carotid artery
• Left common carotid artery

Related conditions

• Brain aneurysm
• Carotid artery stenosis
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Hypothermia & frostbite
• Ischaemic stroke
• Kawasaki disease
• Metabolic syndrome
• Orthostatic hypotension & POTS
• Peripheral artery disease
• Phaeochromocytoma & hyperaldosteronism
• Pre-eclampsia
• Raynaud's phenomenon
• Retinal artery occlusion (eye stroke)
• Sepsis
• Shock (circulatory failure)
• Takayasu arteritis
• Transient ischaemic attack
• Vasculitis (GCA & others)