Citation: FathElrahman Ab. Ib & Elghazaly A. Elghazaly (2022). Variations of Bifurcation of the Common Carotid Artery, and Origin of Superior Thyroid Artery, in Sudanese: A Cadaveric Study, SAR J Anat Physiol, 3(3), 22-26. 22 SAR Journal of Anatomy and Physiology Abbreviated Key Title: SAR J Anat Physiol Home page: https://sarpublication.com/journal/sarjap/home DOI: 10.36346/sarjap.2022.v03i03.002 ISSN 2707-7713 (P) ISSN 2709-6874 (O) Variations of Bifurcation of the Common Carotid Artery, and Origin of Superior Thyroid Artery, in Sudanese: A Cadaveric Study FathElrahman Ab. Ib. 1 , Elghazaly A. Elghazaly 2* 1 Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Omdurman Ahlia University, Sudan 2 Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Omdurman Islamic University, Sudan, of Al- Baha University, KSA *Corresponding Author: Elghazaly A. Elghazaly Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Omdurman Islamic University, Sudan, of Al- Baha University, KSA Article History: | Received: 13.06.2022 | Accepted: 04.07.2022 | Published: 26.08.2022 | Abstract: Background: Knowledge of the bifurcation level of the common carotid artery (CCA) is important during surgery, mummification, and radiological studies. This study aim to evaluate the anatomical variations in the bifurcation level of CCA, and the origin of the superior thyroid artery (STA), in Sudanese populations. Their knowledge reduces risk during surgery and helps in arterial ligation. Materials and Methods: 30 neck cadaveric specimens were evaluated on sides, using natural anatomical tools and methods for the anatomical studies. Results: The bifurcation of CCA was found at 36.7% at the level of the upper border of thyroid cartilage (TC), 61.7% above, and 1.6% below. No big differences were found in carotid bifurcation on both sides. The right side showed 30% were normal, 66.7 % high, and 3.3% were low-level bifurcation, left showed 43.3% were normal, 56.7% high, and no low level of bifurcation was observed. Origin of STA either from external 50% or bifurcation 46.7% was nearly about the same, with a few incidences 3.3% from the common carotid. Significance differences were observed in origin STA between both sides, on the right the artery commonly originates from external, and on the left commonly from the bifurcation. Conclusion: CCA bifurcates at a higher level in Sudanese, with no big difference in carotid bifurcation on both sides. Statistically, a significant difference was found in the origin of STA on both sides. Recommendation: higher bifurcation of CCA, and side variations in origin of STA, should be put into consideration during surgery and radiology. Keywords: Bifurcation level common carotid artery & origin of superior artery, cadaveric study. Copyright © 2022 The Author(s): This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium for non-commercial use provided the original author and source are credited. 1. INTRODUCTION The common carotid arteries (CCA) are the main vessels that supply the structures of the head and neck, within the thoracic cavity right and left CCA are originated from the brachiocephalic and arch of the aorta successively, then ascend to the neck without giving off any branches [1, 2]. In the upper part of the neck, each one is divided into external carotid (ECA) and internal carotid (ICA), these usually occur at the level of the upper border of the thyroid cartilage (TC), rarely they course up without subdivision [3, 4, 5]. After division, the ICA enters the skull directly to supply the structures within it, while the ECA divides into many branches to head and neck structures [2]. In most cases, the first branch of the external carotid is the superior thyroid artery (STA) for the thyroid gland [6]. At the level of the carotid bifurcation, there are important physiological centers containing receptors for detecting changes in the composition of arterial blood flow and pressure changes [7]. The carotid bifurcation is one of the most common sites of atherosclerotic plaque; the possible explanation for this is the anatomical variations in the level of bifurcation [8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13]. The anatomical Knowledge of carotid bifurcation level is important during surgery, mummification, and radiological studies. Many studies were done to describe the bifurcation level of CCA, and their results showed many variations. Studies by Preeti Sonje et al, 2019 [14]; K. Radha, 2014 [15]; Vatsala A R et al., 2014 [16]; Ribeiro R. A et al., 2006 [17], found that the most common level of carotid bifurcation was at the level of the upper border of TC, and superior Original Research Article