title: Congenital absence of the external carotid artery: atherosclerosis without a bifurcation.
abstract: We report the case of a patient with congenital absence of the external carotid artery in whom we performed a carotid endarterectomy. The radiographic features and operative findings are presented. Four similar cases previously reported in the literature are reviewed. A comment on the pathophysiology of atherosclerosis at the carotid bulb in the absence of a bifurcation and a brief discussion on the possible embryologic explanation of this anomaly are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Section of Vascular Surgery, Columbus Hospital/Catholic Health Partners, Chicago, IL 60657, USA. hr1970@pol.net
authors.forename: Heron E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Rodriguez
authors.forename: M Firdos
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Ziauddin
authors.forename: Francis J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Podbielski
authors.forename: Joseph R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Durham
authors.forename: Elizabeth T
authors.initials: ET
authors.lastname: Clark
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001161:Arteriosclerosis / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D002342:Carotid Artery, External / Q000002:abnormalities*; D016893:Carotid Stenosis / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D016894:Endarterectomy, Carotid; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018616:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Duplex