title: Variability in the position of the retropharyngeal internal carotid artery.
abstract: The retropharyngeal internal carotid artery (ICA) is a well-described arterial anomaly with important implications for patients undergoing pharyngeal approach surgical procedures. Existing clinical and imaging classification schemes for a retropharyngeal ICA take into account arterial distance to the pharyngeal mucosal wall. We describe a case of mobility of a retropharyngeal ICA between short-interval imaging studies. The possibility of respiratory variability or other etiologies causing such changes in retropharyngeal carotid position have not been described previously. Our findings suggest that imaging findings from a single study alone may not be sufficient to confidently exclude this clinically significant arterial anomaly.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Weill Cornell Medical College/New York Presbyterian Hospital, New York, New York 10065, USA. ajg9004@med.cornell.edu
authors.forename: Ajay
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.forename: Akash D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.forename: Zhigang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: C Douglas
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Young
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001706:Biopsy; D002343:Carotid Artery, Internal / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D003287:Contrast Media; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008206:Lymphatic Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D012187:Retroperitoneal Space / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media