It is well known that the internal carotid artery has no
branches in the neck during postfetal life (von Lanz &
Wachsmuth, 1955), but during embryonic development
there are anastomotic connections between the internal
carotid and basilar artery that rarely persist after intrauterine life (Hassen-Khodja et al. 1992; Widmann &
Sumpio, 1992; De Caro et al. 1995). The most common
anomaly found incidentally on angiography is a persisting
trigeminal artery, but persistent hypoglossal, otic and
proatlantal arteries can also be found (Reynolds et al. 1980;
Ouriel et al. 1988; Salas et al. 1998). We report a rare
example of a persistent hypoglossal artery in a 64 y old
female cadaver, cause of death unknown, embalmed by
standard mortuary procedures for dissection during the
routine anatomy course. The persistent hypoglossal artery
originated from the anteromedial wall of the left internal
carotid artery 2.5 cm above the bifurcation (Fig.). It
extended towards the hypoglossal canal. The diameter of its
lumen was 1.5 mm. During its course in the neck, it was
positioned anterior to the internal carotid artery and medial
to the facial and lingual arteries, the posterior belly of the
digastric muscle and the convexity of the hypoglossal nerve
in the neck. At 1 cm above the convexity of the hypoglossal
nerve in the neck, the artery gave rise to a branch that
entered the skull through the carotid canal anteromedial
to the internal carotid artery (Fig. 1) and joined the basilar
artery. The medial branch of the hypoglossal artery crossed
the internal carotid artery on its medial side and entered the
skull together with the hypoglossal nerve and joined the
basilar artery. We found no other anomalies in the cerebral
arterial system.