Persistent Primitive Mandibular Artery Associated with Congenital Absence of the Carotid Artery

Congenital anomalies of the ICA are rare. Understanding the embryology of the carotid artery is necessary to recognize and understand these anatomic variations when they occur. This article describes an extremely rare trans-sphenoidal interpetrous carotid-to-carotid artery anastomosis associated with absence of the cervical and ascending petrous ICA in an adult and reviews the pertinent embryology.